


The Blood Moon Festival and The Arrival of The Wayward Prince

by ClearSkyBlue



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: M/M, Vampires, main kiho, side wonhyuk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-23 21:37:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21088223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClearSkyBlue/pseuds/ClearSkyBlue
Summary: The Bood Moon Festival was known to vampires to be the time where anything can happen. Minhyuk thought that it was the perfect time to, for once and for all, tell Hoseok how he really felt about him. However, as the night wore on and an unexpected guest arrived at the party, Minhyuk felt like he was running out of time - as if he had any in the first place.





	The Blood Moon Festival and The Arrival of The Wayward Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Finished this fic just in time for October lol  
Vampires, that works for sp00ky szn right?  
anyways.... pls enjoy!! XOXO!

  
The door creaked open yet the steps that followed were silent. Hoseok still felt a presence in his room, and he knew who that presence was. A gasp interrupted the silence, and just a second later, someone was standing next to him, arm wrapped around his own. They both peered into the mirror together.

“Wow, you look amazing, Hoseok,” the person, his dear Minhyuk, said before resting his head right on Hoseok’s shoulder.

Hoseok glanced at him and smiled. He looked back to the mirror and fixed his outfit up for the hundredth time, “you think so? I think the last time I wore this outfit was in 1912.” It was a Victorian suit, quite out of fashion even for the last time he wore it, but it did fit him quite nicely.

Minhyuk nodded, getting off of Hoseok’s shoulder, “yeah, it does look like that.” He looked at Hoseok, “from our trip to Europe, right?” He sighed, shaking his head and reminiscing, “what a wonderful time.” Hoseok nodded in agreement. “Well, at least the party’s theme is steampunk-ish, late nineteenth century-ish fashion. You’ll fit right in,” Minhyuk put a hand on Hoseok’s chest - a gesture Hoseok was quite used to. “What about me?” Minhyuk turned to the mirror and posed.

Minhyuk was wearing a tightly vested velvet midnight blue suit with paisley patterns and a silk ruffle blouse underneath it. It fit him perfectly with his recently died white hair and the red lip tint he liked to wear lately that made him look like he had just feasted on the purest of souls. “You look stunning, Minhyuk,” Hoseok said, "ravishing."

Minhyuk preened at the compliment. “You, too,” he said back. “We’re gonna be the best looking couple there, huh?” He held onto Hoseok tighter.

Hoseok sighed, “Minhyuk…”

Minhyuk stiffened for a second. He slowly let go of Hoseok’s arm, “I know, I know…” He sighed and then smiled. He playfully hit Hoseok, “we’re still going to be the best-looking ones there, eh? Vampires will wish they were us. Humans will beg us to bite them.” He smirked, showing his sharp fangs.

Hoseok rolled his eyes, “sure, Minhyuk.” He smiled - because Minhyuk never failed to make him happy.

“I’m glad you’ve decided to come to this party. I don’t think we’ve ever gone to one together,” Minhyuk said as he looked back in the mirror.

“Hyunwoo has been faithfully inviting me to them for the last couple of centuries. It’s about time I get out and enjoyed one,” Hoseok said.

“And you’re going to the Blood Moon Festival! Vampires from all around are going to go there. Only the best of humans will serve. It’s going to be so much fun. Let’s go,” Minhyuk grabbed Hoseok’s hand. “You’re done here, right? Because our chauffeur is here, and I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

“Yeah,” Hoseok ran a hand through his hair as Minhyuk dragged him out of the room.

“Since so many people are going,” Minhyuk started to speak again, “maybe I’ll meet old relatives you haven’t seen since I was alive. I’d love to meet my family line.”

Hoseok’s eyes widened, “old relatives?” He stopped walking. He never thought about that.

They were in front of the grand stairs that led to the front door of their house. Hoseok turned around the saw the grand portrait that rested in the wall - old, but in good condition. Hoseok would never let anything happen to that portrait. Minhyuk turned around with him, confused. He looked at the painting that hung on the wall - a painting with Hoseok standing and another man on a velvet and wooden chair, the man Minhyuk did not know anything about, the man Hoseok has known for a thousand years. Whenever he asked of his identity, the only answer Minhyuk got was, “a man whose many memories are too precious to recount.”

All Minhyuk knew about him was that he was the first person Hoseok ever turned. That told Minhyuk nothing, but it said everything that he needed to know.

“Say, Minhyuk,” Hoseok stepped forward, “you go to these events more than I do.” He took another step, “have you ever seen someone that looks like him?”

“I’ve never looked, Seok,” Minhyuk answered. He took a step forward and put a hand on Hoseok’s upper arm, “but maybe he will be there, too.”

“Maybe,” Hoseok sighed. He felt as if his unbeating heart had started to race. He sighed. “If only…” he looked down and turned, walking down the stairs.

Minhyuk watched him go. Then, he turned back to the portrait and stared at the mystery man, at his high cheekbones and sharp eyes. He left Hoseok so long ago, yet he held the biggest part of Hoseok’s heart. Minhyuk never understood why. What made him more special than Minhyuk?

“Minhyuk, are you coming or what?” Hoseok asked at the bottom of the stairs.

Minhyuk turned to him, “y-yeah, I’ll be right there!”

The sun had just set. Minhyuk could still slightly feel the effects of it on his skin. The limousine's windows were darkly tinted to hide them away. Hoseok sat across from him. Minhyuk’s leg was bouncing with excitement, and Hoseok smiled at him amusingly.

“I can’t wait to arrive,” Minhyuk said, “I begged Hyungwon to send me a picture of the decor and it all looks so good.” He sighed contently, “it makes me feel like I’m alive again.”

Hoseok tilted his head, “really? But I thought it was European inspired decor. You were born in Korea.”

“Yeah,” Minhyuk looked up and moved his head side to side, “but you did take me to Europe!”

“Decades later,” Hoseok chuckled, “and you were already a vampire by then.”

“Details, Seok!” Minhyuk pouted. He sighed and smiled anyway, “the trip was really fun though. I’m glad you took me there.”

Hoseok hummed and nodded, “it’s no problem. Seeing the world is fun, and you make it better.”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened. He cleared his throat and looked away. He had not drunk blood today. He could not blush.

The mansion already had a great deal of people by the time they got there. Hoseok and Minhyuk entered the mansion with grace and beauty, holding their heads up high to show their strength and power. They were related to the host after all. They had to make a good show.

“Hoseok, is that you?” Speak of the Devil, and he shall come find you.

Hoseok turned to the direction of the voice and smiled, “Hyunwoo, it’s been a long time.”

“Too long,” Hyunwoo shook his head in disbelief as he walked towards them. He looked over at Minhyuk.

Minhyuk chuckled, putting his hand on Hoseok’s shoulder, “I finally managed to convince him.”

“Wow,” Hyunwoo stepped forward and hugged Hoseok. Hoseok hugged him back. It really had been too long. Hoseok missed Hyunwoo. “I’m so glad you could make it,” Hyunwoo broke the hug. “We have so much to talk about, but I’m greeting guests right now. Go on,” he motioned to the door at the end of the wide living space in front of them that led to the patio, “refreshments and entertainment are in the back. I’d say make yourself at home, but this will always be your home so…” He chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

Hoseok chuckled back, “of course, come find us when you’re done then.”

Hyunwoo nodded. He looked at Minhyuk and offered his hand. Minhyuk grabbed it. Hyunwoo brought Minhyuk's hand to his mouth and kissed it, “it’s nice to see you again too, Minhyuk. Thank you for bringing this child that doesn’t like to show up to family events.” He pointed at Hoseok.

Minhyuk covered his giggles with his hand, “it’s no problem, but I was very close to dragging him here myself.”

Hoseok crossed his arms and chuckled, “come on, Minhyuk.” He grabbed Minhyuk’s hand, “it’s time to head to the back and see everyone that’s here.” They started walking towards the back. Hoseok turned his head and looked at Hyunwoo, “come to us when you have time!”

“Will do!” Hyunwoo nodded.

The patio had several round outdoor tables set down while rectangular tables filled with refreshments surrounded them. Few of the round tables were empty, but Hoseok and Minhyuk were able to find one in the outskirts far from the entrance of the mansion.

As they traveled to the table, they greeted several family members - people that were related to them, not by blood, but by who changed them. Hoseok and Minhyuk were part of Hyunwoo’s line as Hyunwoo was the one who changed Hoseok, and Hoseok was the one who changed Minhyuk. They met up with Hoseok’s brother (per se as Hyunwoo had also changed him) Jooheon, who had spent the last few decades in the States with a different vampire family. They also met up with cousins and aunts and uncles and family friends that Hoseok had not seen in years that Minhyuk knew but just had not known how they were related to him.

“There is so much family here that I had not seen in years. I’m so glad I came,” Hoseok said once they sat down on the empty table. “Thank you for dragging me here, Min.”

Minhyuk puffed out his chest, “I knew it would be good for you. You’re welcome. The night of the Blood Moon should be an event that is spent with your family, so it was only natural that I would try to convince you to come here.” He put his hand palm first on the table and slowly moved it towards Hoseok. “Glad it worked.”

Hoseok nodded and put his hand on Minhyuk’s, “indeed. Tonight will be fun.”

“Alright, you two,” a voice cut through them and Hoseok let go of Minhyuk’s hand, “first drinks of the night. Do you want alcoholic or virgin?”

Minhyuk gasped loudly, “Hyungwon! I thought you weren’t working tonight!”

Hyungwon moved his tray of drinks higher, “I’m not working rooms tonight. I wasn’t about to deal with feisty drunk vampires in the Blood Moon.”

“Virgin,” Hoseok answered Hyungwon’s question.

“Alcohol,” Minhyuk said, reaching out his hand so that Hyungwon could give him the drink.

“Yeah, have it now because it won’t be around later,” Hyungwon handed Minhyuk a glass full of blood with a red ring around its stem. “The other vampires are sucking these ones up, and there’s no way I’m making the other feeders give more. They’re still hungover from this batch.” Minhyuk nodded as he grabbed his glass.

“And here you go,” Hyungwon handed a glass to Hoseok.

“Thank you,” Hoseok grabbed the glass. Hoseok and Minhyuk looked at each other and quietly cheered before taking a sip of their respective glasses.

“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Hoseok,” Hyungwon started, “it’s been a while.”

“A couple of years maybe. Time passes too fast for me,” Hoseok shook his head dismissively, “I see a lot has changed over here. Are you running the house now?”

“Nah,” Minhyuk said as both Hyungwon and he shook their heads. “He’s just Hyunwoo’s favorite right now, so he basically does.”

“I’m not Mr. Hyunwoo’s favorite,” Hyungwon rolled his eyes.

“Oh please, I was Hyunwoo’s favorite once. I know how it works,” Minhyuk took another sip of his drink and rested his head on his hand, elbow on the table, “why else would he not want you working tonight even though the Blood Moon Festival tends to require all the feeders in a house to be at service? You told me just yesterday that you weren’t supposed to work tonight but you convinced him to at least let you do this. You’re his favorite.” His mouth morphed into a shit-eating grin.

Hyungwon exhaled loudly and looked up for a second. He then looked at Hoseok, “how do you deal with him on the nightly basis?”

“You learn to tune him out after a while,” Hoseok smiled.

“Hey!” Minhyuk yelled, glaring. “I’m just stating facts here,” he pouted.

“Whatever, I have to get back to work. I’ll see you guys later,” Hyungwon left to serve a table near them.

“Aren’t sires supposed to always take their child’s side?” Minhyuk asked Hoseok.

“I was just teasing, Min,” Hoseok shrugged, taking a sip of his glass of blood, “also, it’s supposed to be the other way around. I’m just too nice.”

“You love me too much,” Minhyuk grinned happily.

Hoseok rolled his eyes, “yeah, I guess I do.”

Minhyuk’s grin widened. He wanted to pretend for a second - that Hoseok meant that the way Minhyuk wished he would mean it, that Hoseok loved him in the same way Minhyuk did - just for a minuscule second. Yet after that second passed, Minhyuk felt empty again. He drank the rest of his glass in a few gulps and stood up. “I’m gonna socialize for a little bit. Are you staying here?”

Hoseok nodded, “I’ll wait for Hyunwoo to show up.”

Minhyuk nodded, “alright, I’ll see you later then.” He started to move through the small crowd standing up. He grabbed another glass of alcoholic blood as he passed by a feeder waiter.

  
“Isn’t it a little weird for a vampire to be following a feeder around?” Hyungwon asked Minhyuk as he refilled his tray with cups of blood at the kitchen away from the party.

“What? I thought we were friends,” Minhyuk put a hand on his chest, acting hurt.

“We are,” Hyungwon looked at him, “but I’m in professional mode right now, and when I’m like this, I’m not friends with any of you.”

Minhyuk rolled his eyes, “right.”

“Shouldn’t you be with Hyunwoo and Hoseok right now? All the guests that were going to come have come, so Hyunwoo should be with Hoseok right now,” Hyungwon said, placing more cups on his tray. In the years he had worked on Hyunwoo’s house, he had learned to balance more than half a dozen cups in one hand.

“I will go back to them soon. For now, I just need some time alone,” Minhyuk sighed.

“With me?” Hyungwon raised an eyebrow at him. He lifted the tray of cups.

Minhyuk would have pushed Hyungwon had he not be holding the cups, “you know what I mean.”

“Right,” Hyungwon nodded. He started walking out of the kitchen. Minhyuk followed him, “so why exactly are you running away from the love of your life?”

Minhyuk glared at his back, “I’m not running away from him.”

“Well, that’s good then. It would be weird to run away from him after all the trouble you went through to get him here in the first place,” Hyungwon commented.

Minhyuk chuckled bitterly, “yeah, that’s the thing.” He sighed. Hyungwon turned his head to look at Minhyuk. “The Blood Moon Festival is where everything happens. Everyone meets up. Everyone forgives each other. Everyone confesses. Lady Luck tends to be by your side. I just wish something different happened tonight. For once, for Hoseok to look at me like I look at him, but I’m scared that won’t happen.”

Hyungwon stayed quiet for a few seconds. He shook his head, “you’re hopeless. You do know that won’t happen if you stick with me the entire night. You need to seize the night if you want that to happen.”

“Yeah, but…” Minhyuk looked down. Certain thoughts and memories came to his head. “I don’t feel ready.”

“Well then,” Hyungwon looked ahead. They were getting near the patio doors, “maybe it isn’t your time yet.”

Minhyuk stopped walking and frowned. He wanted it to be his time - needed it to be.

More than one hundred years ago, Minhyuk strode the halls of Hyunwoo’s previous house with a swagger and a confidence that only he was known for. He walked into the room where the vampires were resting in and set his eyes on his target. With a smirk tugging his lips, Minhyuk walked towards him and without any hesitation, sat comfortably on his lap, sideways.

“You asked for this?” Minhyuk sweetly asked, wrapping one arm around the neck of his target and offering him a cup of blood.

“For this, yes,” his target grabbed the cup. “For this,” he motioned to Minhyuk sitting on his lap, “not quite.”

Minhyuk giggled, covering his mouth, “on the house.” He put his hand on his target’s chest, “welcome back, Mr. Hoseok.”

His target, the oh so handsome Hoseok, finally back home after years of being away who knows where, smiled, “I see.” He drank from his cup, his lips tinting red. Minhyuk licked his lips as he watched Hoseok’s actions. “I appreciate the warm welcome, Minhyuk,” Hoseok said as he wrapped an arm around Minhyuk’s waist. “I can see why you’re so well talked about in these parts of the world,” he put pressure on Minhyuk’s hip with his thumb, “however…”

“Yes,” Minhyuk fluttered his eyes. He moved closer to Hoseok, his hand moving from Hoseok’s chest to his neck. It was a simple move, but it worked on everyone, dead or alive.

Hoseok moved his hand away from Minhyuk’s hip. He placed it on Minhyuk’s chest and pushed him away, “I’m not interested.”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened. He heard chuckles from the two other vampires present in the room - Hyunwoo and Jooheon. Minhyuk had worked in the house for years. He could not believe he was so flat-out rejected like that. “Get off him, Minhyuk,” he heard Hyunwoo say, “he just got here.”

Boss’ orders, a part of Minhyuk’s head reminded him, and he automatically climbed off Hoseok, in shock still. There was no emotion when he looked into Hoseok’s eyes.

“You can come here instead,” Jooheon patted his thigh. Minhyuk looked at him for a pensive second. It’s not like he had any other choice. He was the only feeder serving them tonight. He had to follow the orders. He smiled. It was no problem. He liked Jooheon. He walked across the room and sat on the floor next to Jooheon, putting his arms on Jooheon’s thighs and resting his head there. Jooheon started to run his hand through Minhyuk’s long hair.

The three vampires started to converse. They mostly spent time asking Hoseok about what he had been doing in all the years he had been gone. Searching for something, it seemed, someone. Minhyuk never caught what exactly, but when he watched Hoseok talk about it, he noticed the look of longing in his face mixed with overwhelming passion and love. He looked so marvelous to Minhyuk and Minhyuk simply could not look away. He really could not believe he got rejected by that hunk of a man. He sighed loudly.

“Are you tired?” Hyunwoo suddenly asked, and when Minhyuk looked at him, he noticed that the question was directed at him.

Minhyuk was not tired. “A little,” he lied, yawning, wanting to pretend that he did not sigh over Hoseok. He stood up, “is it alright if I excuse myself tonight?”

Hyunwoo nodded, “go right ahead. You’ve worked hard tonight.”

Minhyuk smiled and bowed to him. “Goodnight then,” he glanced at Hoseok, who was looking at him, and turned to walk away.

Jooheon stood up, “may I accompany you to your room?”

Minhyuk looked at him and smirked. He put a hand on Jooheon’s upper arm, “if you wish.” He started to walk away, not waiting for him.

Once they were away from the room, Jooheon opened his mouth, “you seem to have taken a liking for my older brother.”

Minhyuk turned around to look at him before turning back, “and what if I have?”

“Nothing,” Jooheon shook his head, “just know that he will never look your way.”

Minhyuk frowned. He did not like that. No one has ever told him something like that here. “And why’s that?”

“He’s in love,” Jooheon simply said. “For centuries, he’s been helplessly in love. Even you can’t win against that.”

Minhyuk stopped walking. “I see,” he muttered. “Well,” he turned around to look at Jooheon, “I can still try, can I?” He was trying to give himself hope.

“I’ve never seen anyone reject you as hard as he did. I don’t think you have a chance,” Jooheon grinned, “but yeah, you can still try. However, it’s likely a lost cause.”

“Hmph,” Minhyuk turned back around and kept walking. He would rather not hear this negativity. He was Lee Minhyuk. He had been around vampires for a good chunk of his adulthood. He knew how to reel them in, seduce them, and get what he wanted out of them. Hoseok was no exception.

“Just don’t fall in love with him, Min,” Jooheon said, more cautiously, “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Minhyuk turned his head to look at Jooheon, “I won’t.” He turned back to face the front, and Hoseok’s face flashed through his mind. “I won’t,” he whispered again, to himself.

And fast he fell. Since that first night they met. It was almost embarrassing, how one hundred years later, Minhyuk was still chasing after the same man with the same hope that someday, someday, it will all be worth it. He wanted today to be his lucky day, but with the way Hoseok reacted earlier to the thought of them being a couple, Minhyuk was not so sure.

Minhyuk walked down the stairs next to Hyungwon. When he looked towards the back, he saw that Hyunwoo and Hoseok were indeed talking to each other. He sighed. He looked at Hyungwon, “I’ll be heading back now.” Hyungwon nodded and they went separate ways as soon as their covered feet touched the dewy grass.

Minhyuk traveled instantly to his table. “I’m back,” he said as he sat next to Hoseok.

“Where were you?” Hyunwoo smiled at him.

“Oh, you know,” Minhyuk let out a breath, cleaning his suit pants from any dust, “disrupting Hyungwon’s work.”

Hyunwoo chuckled, “then I’m guessing Hyungwon was the one who told you to get back here.”

“I was going to make my way back anyways,” Minhyuk said. “It’s been a while since we’ve all sat together and talked.”

Hoseok nodded, “we’re just missing Jooheon and the whole family will be together. Where is he by the way?” He looked at Hyunwoo.

“He told me he’s waiting for someone to arrive. He’ll join us later,” Hyunwoo answered.

“Who?” Hoseok asked.

Hyunwoo shrugged, “I don’t know. Someone he met while in America. He wants to present them to us.”

“Okay, I wonder who they are,” Hoseok said.

“Jooheon is pretty sociable, so it’s no surprise that he made friends in America, but them coming here must mean they’re important,” Minhyuk commented.

“You’re right,” Hoseok nodded, looking at him.

“I hadn’t thought about it like that,” Hyunwoo rubbed his chin, “well now I’m curious.”

“We can always find out,” Hoseok smiled. “Minhyuk,” he turned to his kin. “Go ask Jooheon,” he said, “he’s fond of you, so he might tell you.”

Minhyuk chuckled, “alright, I’ll try.” He was gone a second later.

A second later, Minhyuk appeared next to Jooheon, who was by the stairs that led to the interior of the house. Jooheon had been talking to distant relatives, and he jumped in fear when Minhyuk suddenly appeared next to him.

“Jesus, Minhyuk, announce yourself first,” Jooheon said, putting a hand on his heart. “I almost died of fright.”

“I just got here,” Minhyuk said, “and you’re already dead.”

“Besides the point,” Jooheon took a big final breath and put his hand down as he let it go.

The relatives in front of them giggled. “Minhyuk,” one of them nodded towards Minhyuk.

Minhyuk might vaguely remember her from his feeder days, but he could not be sure. “Ladies,” he nodded and smiled back.

They giggled again. “Well, Jooheonie, we should be getting back now. It was nice catching up with you,” one of them said.

“We should catch up later, Minhyuk,” the other one said.

“Sure,” Minhyuk nodded, smiling again.

The ladies walked away, their long dresses flowing behind them as they moved at a human pace arm in arm. “Wait, so who are they?” Minhyuk whispered to Jooheon once they were a distance away.

“Um… first cousin, twice removed?” Jooheon looked at Minhyuk. “I don’t know,” he shook his head, “they’re either related to Hyunwoo directly or to Hyunwoo’s maker.”

Minhyuk hummed, “they seem familiar.”

“Of course they are. They used to be frequent visitors of the feeder house before they had to move away,” Jooheon explained, “but who cares? It’s nice that they’re here either way.” He shrugged.

“I guess,” Minhyuk nodded. “Say,” he smirked, “talking about Hyunwoo, he told me that you were expecting someone. Who is it?” He got closer to Jooheon, putting a hand on Jooheon’s shoulder.

Jooheon looked at Minhyuk with a raised eyebrow. He was unamused. “It’s a surprise,” his lips morphed into a smile. “I want you all to find out later.”

“Oh come on, that’s not fun,” Minhyuk shook his head, “tell me. I won’t tell Hyunwoo. It can be our surprise for him.”

Jooheon still was not convinced, “it’s not just for Hyunwoo.”

Minhyuk sighed, “I won’t tell Hoseok either. No matter how much he begs.” He rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he nudged Jooheon, “tell me, please. Tell me. I know it’s someone you met in America. How important can an American be?”

Jooheon just looked at him. They stayed quiet for a few seconds. The sound of the party around them filly the small space in between them. Minhyuk was looking into Jooheon’s eyes, an expectant smile on his lips. He was not going to leave Jooheon alone until he got an answer, and Jooheon seemed to start to understand that.

Jooheon sighed, “alright. Fine then.” He stepped back from Minhyuk and crossed his arms. Minhyuk almost cheered in triumph, but he kept it hidden. A smirk formed instead. Jooheon looked down for a few seconds. “His name is Changkyun,” he finally ended up saying. “He’s a relatively new vampire and would like to find a family here in Korea, so I offered him to join ours since I know Hyunwoo would not mind.” He looked up at the sky, “you know how difficult it is for vampires to cross oceans before sunrise. I just hope they make it here by the Blood Moon. They really want to celebrate this holiday with us.”

Minhyuk listened closely. “Yeah, that sounds nice. I’m sure that Hyunwoo would accept him. Why are you keeping it a secret though?” He asked.

Jooheon shrugged, “it’s fun that way, but oh well, I guess it’s ruined now. Go and tell Hyunwoo and Hoseok. I’m gonna go to the front to wait for them.” He patted Minhyuk’s shoulder and walked away.

Minhyuk watched Jooheon go. So the big surprise was that they might get a new family member? That would be nice. The family had not grown since Minhyuk was converted, so it would be nice to have a new vampire around to baby - especially since he was a young vampire. Minhyuk smiled. He was excited to meet Changkyun. He thought of all the things he could possibly teach him, and with those thoughts, he walked back to his table.

“So what information were you able to get, Minhyuk?” Hyunwoo asked the moment Minhyuk sat down.

Minhyuk looked at him, “it’s a new vampire he met in America. He’s looking for a family here, and Jooheon wondered if we could take him in.”

Hyunwoo nodded slowly. He was thoughtful for some time. “Well, if Jooheon trusts him, I don’t see why not. He could fit right in.”

Hoseok agreed, “it’s been a while since we have increased our family.”

“We’re small but close-knit. We’ll take good care of him,” Hyunwoo said. “Jooheon can take him under his wing as a sire if necessary.”

Hoseok chuckled. He turned to Minhyuk, “Min, you won’t be the youngest anymore.” He ruffled Minhyuk’s hair.

“Hey, I took some time on this,” Minhyuk swatted Hoseok’s hand away and tried to fix his hair, “and that’s a great thing! As much as I love being spoiled, it’d be nice to dote on someone else for a bit.” The older two nodded in acknowledgement of the comment.

“I have to admit, I miss being Hyunwoo’s youngest,” Wonho chuckled, sipping from his almost empty glass of wine.

“Really?” Hyunwoo raised an eyebrow, “well, if it makes you feel any better, Jooheon sometimes forgets that he’s younger than you.”

“He does?” Hoseok’s eyes widened as he looked at Hyunwoo, “hey, where’s that kid? I have almost eight hundred years on him.” He looked around.

Both Hyunwoo and Minhyuk chuckled. “He’s off to wait for him at the front of the house,” Minhyuk said.

Hyunwoo patted Hoseok’s shoulder, “I’m sure he’s just teasing when he says that.”

“He better be,” Hoseok said.

“You know how he is,” Minhyuk said, “he’s like that. Plus, I doubt you’d actually do anything to him. He’s your baby brother.”

“Hey, Minhyuk,” Hoseok looked at him with a frown. Minhyuk just smiled sweetly at him. Hoseok dropped the frown and looked away, “hush.” Minhyuk laughed loudly in response.

The three of them kept talking. The atmosphere was kept light with jokes and anecdotes. Minhyuk and Hoseok had just come back from a trip to Australia. There were many stories there to tell. The estate where the party was being held at was relatively new. Hyunwoo built it to fit the feeder business more comfortably. The house was gorgeous and Hyunwoo offered them rooms if they wanted to stay with him for a few days. Minhyuk almost said yes instantly but had to settle with Hoseok saying that they would consider it.

The blood at their table soon ran dry. Their engaging conversation kept them from noticing it. “What the hell?” Hoseok muttered as he looked at his empty cup. “Already?”

“You’ve been slowly sipping from one glass. It’s not surprising,” Minhyuk chuckled.

Hoseok pouted. He twirled the empty glass and looked at Minhyuk, giving him the irresistible puppy eyes. In an instant, Minhyuk knew what he was going to ask. “Min, can you go get more? Even Hyunwoo’s is almost done,” Hoseok grabbed Hyunwoo’s glass, which sat right in front of its owner, and poured half of its content into his own. “You see?” He said as he put the glass back.

Hyunwoo looked at his glass and scoffed. He smiled and shook his head. “Brat,” he muttered.

Minhyuk smiled at the interaction. It was amusing seeing how Hoseok acted with Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo was one of the oldest vampires known in Korea. Everyone treated him with the utmost respect that he deserved, except for Hoseok. Hoseok was only a few centuries younger than Hyunwoo - still ancient in Minhyuk’s opinion and that of newer vampires - but people still gasped at the way Hoseok acted around his sire. Minhyuk was sure that, with the they acted with Hoseok, they would get heart attacks once they see the way Jooheon acted acted around Hyunwoo - a little baby, barely three centuries old, compared to his brother and his sire, but still as much of a brat. Minhyuk was a fetus, just recently finished his first century, next to all of them - which was why he was fetching the blood.

Minhyuk stood up, “I’ll go look for Hyungwon then.” He smiled and disappeared.

Minhyuk scurried the entire party at speeds only known by vampires. He did not find Hyungwon until he entered the kitchen inside the house. “Ah, there you are!” He announced himself loudly behind Hyungwon.

“Motherfuc-!” Hyungwon flinched, causing him to fumble with the jar of blood he was pouring into the fine glasses. “Minhyuk!” He turned to glare at the vampire. “You’re so annoying,” he muttered.

Minhyuk heard it loud and clear. He was a vampire after all. “But you still adore me,” he said smugly, putting a hand on his chest.

“Yeah,” Hyungwon nodded. He turned back to doing what he was doing before. “For a fee,” he added.

Minhyuk gasped dramatically, “and here I thought our vampire-feeder relationship was different!”

Hyungwon shook his head and rolled his eyes. He had a smile on his lips, but he rathered not amuse Minhyuk anymore. He had a job to finish after all.

“Anyways,” Minhyuk composed himself. He moved at his fast speed until he was right next to Hyungwon. “I need glasses brought to my table please.”

Hyungwon looked at Minhyuk, “you could’ve literally asked any other feeder working tables tonight.”

"Yeah, but I decided to ask our favorite feeder to do it," Minhyuk put his hands on Hyungwon's shoulders and cuddled up against him. Hyungwon cringed away. Minhyuk let him go, "oh, and I need a favor."

"Oh, no," Hyungwon finished pouring blood into the glasses and started putting them on his giant tray, "and what is that?"

"As a friend to a friend, Hyungwonnie," Minhyuk put a hand on Hyungwon's shoulder, "can you please take Hyunwoo away from me and Hoseok?"

Hyungwon looked at Minhyuk, "what?"

Minhyuk sighed, "as much as I love my granddaddy, I need to be alone with Hoseok right now if I want everything to go my way - especially since I feel that the Blood Moon will rise soon." He looked up, for a second thinking he was going to see the sky instead of a ceiling.

“Ew,” Hyungwon shuddered, leaning against the table, “did you really have to call Hyunwoo that? Do you have any idea how weird that sounds?”

Minhyuk laughed loudly. He patted Hyungwon’s back, “it has no meaning for vampires though.”

“I know that,” Hyungwon looked at him, “but it still sounds weird, and granddaddy above that? Are you serious?”

“I knew you’d hate it,” Minhyuk laughed. “Anyway,” he cleared his throat, “will you help me, Wonnie dear, love, honey?”

Hyungwon sighed, “can I ask you something first?” Minhyuk shrugged and did a movement with his head, letting Hyungwon know that he could. “Why are you even trying tonight? What do you think is going to change? He’s rejected you before, hasn’t he?”

Minhyuk’s shoulders slumped, “harsh, and that’s more than one question, huh?” Hyungwon did not answer to that. He simply waited for an answer. Minhyuk sighed, “I still have to try tonight though. Like I’ve said before, it’s the Blood Moon. Anything can happen tonight. If I don’t try again tonight, I-” He shrugged, “I don’t know.”

Hyungwon did not answer instantly. He instead sighed and shook his head, going back to his work of putting the glasses on his tray. “The Blood Moon should happen in around,” he looked at his wristwatch, “an hour. I can probably take Hyunwoo away by saying that something needed for the spectacle is out of place or whatever. I’ll try.”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened. Something in his chest blossomed as his mouth formed an enormous grin. “Oh Hyungwon,” he went to hug his dearest friend, “thank you so much. Thank you so, so, so much.”

Hyungwon stayed still though he did not reciprocate the hug. “Yeah, yeah, just good luck with Hoseok or whatever,” he grabbed the full tray after Minhyuk let him go. “Come on, let’s go back and I’ll drag Hyunwoo away,” he turned to look at Minhyuk. Minhyuk nodded, quickly and happily.

They walked out of the kitchen. As they walked to the main part of the house, Minhyuk noticed a small commotion was forming there. Minhyuk’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on out there?” He wondered out loud.

“I don’t know,” Hyungwon shook his head. They entered the main part of the house and saw that a small circle of people had formed. Hyungwon tilted his head. “I have no idea what could be happening,” he muttered.

There were so many people speaking at once, and though Minhyuk’s hearing was enhanced due to being a vampire, he could not quite decipher what was being said - only the shock in people’s voices. Curiosity got the best of him, and he walked closer to the commotion. Hyungwon followed behind him, weary and slowly but just as curious.

Just as Minhyuk was getting near the commotion, was getting near to pushing the crowd apart to see who they were crowding, a vampire quickly pushed past him, breaking the crowd instantly.

In the middle were two vampires that Minhyuk could not quite recognize. The vampire that pushed past him was Jooheon, who sported the most excited smile Minhyuk had seen on him all night. “Kihyun!” He yelled, opening his arms wide, “I’m so glad you could make it!”

The vampire Jooheon faced, Kihyun, smiled. He walked into Jooheon’s arms and hugged him tightly, “I’m glad I could make it, too.”

Minhyuk slowly walked to the front of the crowd. He stared at Kihyun, and the more he did, the more familiar he became. Hyungwon stood beside him. He gasped, “oh, my god, it’s Kihyun.”

Minhyuk looked at Hyungwon, “who is Kihyun?”

Hyungwon looked at him in shock, “you don’t know who Kihyun is?”

“Should I?” Minhyuk looked back at Kihyun, who had separated himself from Jooheon.

“So, is this the new place?” Kihyun looked around.

Jooheon nodded, "it's so nice. I should show you around later. I think you'll like it here." Kihyun nodded eagerly.

Minhyuk turned to Hyungwon. "Who is he?" He asked. He knew everyone that lived in this region. Not knowing who this man was bothered him - especially since he felt like he should.

"It's been so many years," a vampire stepped forward and put her hand on Kihyun. With the other, she covered her mouth. She was a cousin of Hyunwoo. "So many of us really thought you were gone for good."

"No," Kihyun shook his head. He grabbed her hand and got it off her shoulder. "I was only off exploring for a few years."

The vampire laughed loudly, “yeah right.” She laid her eyes on the other unknown vampire that stood behind Kihyun. He looked shy and out of place. "And who is this young man here if I may ask?"

Kihyun let go of the lady's hand and grabbed the unknown vampire's hand, "this right here is Changkyun. He's merely a newborn, only a few years old, so he needs a little time to get used to us." That vampire, Changkyun, bowed to greet everyone. His voice was soft and deep and accented. Everyone cooed at him, and if he was human, it looked like he might have blushed.

"Minhyuk," Hyungwon looked into his eyes, "that's Kihyun. He's your older brother. He's Hoseok's first kin."

Minhyuk's eyes widened and he looked back at Kihyun. The big portrait at the top of the stairs of Hoseok and Minhyuk's house flashed through his eyes. That man sitting on the chair, that was this man. That was Kihyun, and Minhyuk felt stupid for not realizing sooner. "How do you know that?" He still felt the need to ask.

"I don't think he's been as absent as everyone thinks he has been," Hyungwon said, "I think he's just been hiding."

Minhyuk did not care to hear an explanation for that. His legs guided him forward until he was in front of Kihyun. Kihyun had engaged in more words with Jooheon, but he quieted when he saw Minhyuk step near him. "Oh," he said as he stared at Minhyuk up and down, "hello."

"Hi," Minhyuk observed Kihyun back. Here was the man - the man Hoseok refused to talk about - in the flesh. Why?

"Minhyuk!" Jooheon appeared next to Minhyuk and wrapped an arm around him, "hey, I'd like you to meet a very important person in our family. This is Kihyun!" He said it so cheerfully. Everyone around him was filled with such a positive energy, but Minhyuk could not absorb any of it. Instead, as impossible as it was, he heard a high pitch in his head and felt the phantom traces of his heart beating against his chest.

Kihyun smiled, "ah, so you’re Minhyuk? Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Kihyun." He stuck out his hand for Minhyuk to shake, which Minhyuk reluctantly did, not wanting to be rude. He wondered if Kihyun could feel it, the same blood running through their veins, the same blood given by Hoseok.

They did not say anything else to each other.

"I tried to keep your arrival as secret as possible," Jooheon broke into the conversation, "but Changkyun might have slipped out already." He motioned at Minhyuk, chuckling, "so really, Hoseok and Hyunwoo think they're greeting a new vampire, which is not entirely wrong. They just don't know about you."

Kihyun looked at Jooheon. Something changed in his eyes. They started to look fearfully hopeful. "Is Hoseok here?"

Jooheon nodded, "he is, Kihyun." Kihyun let out a shuddering breath, and Minhyuk started to feel uncomfortable being next to him.

"I should go now," Minhyuk turned and started to walk away. He felt all eyes on him and for once, he wished they were not on him. He was almost past the entrance to the backyard when Hyungwon stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"What are you doing?" Hyungwon asked.

“I’m going to see Hoseok. What else?” Minhyuk looked at the tray of drinks Hyungwon was holding. “Ah, that’s right,” he grabbed two, “you don’t have to come with me. I’ll get Hoseok alone myself.” He turned to leave.

“Wait!” Hyungwon stopped him, “are you going to tell him about Kihyun?”

Minhyuk turned and looked at Kihyun. He had gone back to talking to Jooheon and the other vampires. “No,” he said without hesitation.

“Why not? Hasn’t Hoseok been searching for Kihyun since forever? Why are you impeding their meeting?” Hyungwon raised an eyebrow.

“Hoseok hasn’t been searching for Kihyun,” was Minhyuk’s quick response, but he was not so sure of it. He thought of all the traveling Hoseok and he had done over the years. They just got back from a trip to Australia. Hoseok had never said anything about searching for someone, but he always did seem distracted in the places that they went to, like he was not enjoying them to their full potential. Minhyuk had just thought that that was how he was normally.

Hyungwon showed disbelief in the look that he gave Minhyuk. Minhyuk thinned his lips, “why does it matter anyway? Why is Kihyun back now?” He turned around again.

“They’re going to find each other, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon said, ignoring what Minhyuk had said. “It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to do. They’re part of the same family: Hyunwoo’s family. Did you forget he’s tonight’s host?”

Minhyuk turned his head to look at Hyungwon. It did not matter that they were part of the same family. Hoseok and Kihyun should not meet. Kihyun left Hoseok. Minhyuk did not want them to meet. He had to try everything in his power to make sure that they did not. He disappeared from Hyungwon’s sight in an instant without saying one word.

Minhyuk appeared by his table. The drinks in his hands swayed at the stop of momentum and spilled a little in his hands. “Oh, shoot,” Minhyuk moved his hands forward to make sure the blood did not taint his clothing. He looked at Hoseok and Hyunwoo, “sorry about that.” He placed the drinks on the table.

“What took you so long?” Hyunwoo asked as he reached for a new glass.

Minhyul laughed awkwardly, “you know how I am with Hyungwon. I chatted a little too much and lost track of time, and you know how bad vampires already are with the concept of time.” He cleared his throat and looked around.

The party was being held at the front part of the backyard, where white sandstone tile had been set to create a patio. Beyond this laid the vast expanse of the estate’s gardens. Beautiful bushes and flowers and plants decorated the area and Minhyuk finally conjured up a plan to get Hoseok alone.

“Hoseok,” Minhyuk looked at his sire, “would you like to see the gardens with me?”

“Oh,” Hoseok looked at Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo simply smiled at him. “Yeah sure,” Hoseok looked at Minhyuk, “we can, but we do have to be back by the Blood Moon. Hyunwoo wants us to participate in the ceremony.” He stood up.

Minhyuk bit his bottom lip. The ceremony was not even anything special. It was simply the hosting family presenting itself and the head of the family (Hyunwoo, in this case) making a speech. However, the ceremony tended to include every member of the family, and that might include Kihyun if Hyunwoo found out he was here and wanted him there.

Minhyuk shook all the thoughts out of his head and smiled. He walked to Hoseok and wrapped his arm around Hoseok’s arm. “Let’s go then,” he grinned, pulling Hoseok towards the gardens.

The gardens really were stunning. They were big enough that they could get away from the noise of the party - even by their vampire ears’ standard. The stars were numerous in the night, and the full moon shone brightly in the sky. Minhyuk felt tingles of excitement just thinking about how beautiful the moon would look once it turned a bright red color.

“I don’t see a cloud in the sky,” Minhyuk said out loud. He looked at Hoseok, “we really got lucky tonight.”

Hoseok looked up at the sky and nodded, “that’s right. We’ll be able to see the full moon beautifully.”

Minhyuk nodded back, “yes, I agree.” He looked around, “and the flowers look so beautiful. I wonder who’s taking care of them.” He looked at a bush full of big blue flowers that he did not know the name of but liked nonetheless. He stopped and reached out to caress the petals of one. It was soft.

Hoseok, being linked at the arm to Minhyuk, stopped, too, and looked at Minhyuk’s hand as it touched the flower. “Hyunwoo was telling me about how one of the feeders is studying botany right now, so she likes to take care of the garden during the day. It’s still a lot of work so professionals come in every once in awhile, but it’s mostly her.”

“Oh,” Minhyuk nodded in understanding, “she’s doing a really good job then. These look beautiful.” He looked at Hoseok, “what do you think?”

Hoseok nodded, “I agree. If the gardens look this nice at night, I can’t imagine how beautiful they must look during the day.” Minhyuk hummed in agreement and they stayed quiet for a few more seconds until Hoseok spoke again, “Minhyuk.”

His voice showed sudden concern and Minhyuk did not understand why. “What is it?” He asked.

“Are you okay?” Hoseok looked at him, “you seemed a little jumpy since you came back with our drinks.”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened, but he still tried to play it cool. He shook his head, “I-I don’t know what you’re saying.” He tightened his grip on Hoseok’s hand, “come on, let’s keep walking.” He pulled Hoseok forward.

Hoseok rolled his eyes, “I know you, Minhyuk. Did something happen?”

Minhyuk smiled and looked at Hoseok. He patted Hoseok’s arm, “no, nothing happened, but I’m glad you care.”

Hoseok stopped walking and he looked at Minhyuk. “Of course, I care. Why wouldn’t I?” He ran a hand through Minhyuk’s hair.

Minhyuk took in a breath and shuddered it out. He looked at Hoseok’s eyes and they looked so soft and if Minhyuk had a heartbeat, it would be going so fast right now. “I don’t know,” he simply whispered. Hoseok chuckled and rested his hand on the base of Minhyuk’s neck. Minhyuk looked away. He thought that this was the perfect time - the perfect time to say how he felt and yet - “I must be feeling a little down today. I don’t know. I think I kinda want to go home.”

Hoseok’s smile fell and he retracted his hand from Minhyuk’s neck. As cold as Hoseok might be as a vampire, that area where his hand was burned hot. “You want to leave?” Minhyuk nodded, hesitating. He did not expect Hoseok to sound so sad about it. Hoseok looked down. He stayed quiet for a few seconds. “I see,” he nodded and looked back up to Minhyuk, “we can leave, but let’s do it after the Blood Moon comes. Hyunwoo really wants us there for his speech, and I don’t want to make him sad.”

Minhyuk’s heart fell to his stomach. Hoseok was more bound to respect Hyunwoo’s wishes more than Minhyuk’s simply by nature - especially more so because he wanted to stay - so he knew that insisting on leaving now would be in vain. “You really want to stay?” He asked.

Hoseok nodded, “we’ll leave right after the ceremony.” He grabbed Minhyuk’s hand again and squeezed it.

Minhyuk sighed. He took a step forward and rested his head on Hoseok’s shoulder. He let go of Hoseok’s hand and wrapped them around Hoseok’s upper body. Hoseok hugged him back a second later. He rested his head on Minhyuk’s shoulder, and Minhyuk heard him chuckle against his ear. It sent shivers all throughout Minhyuk’s body.

“What’s this for?” Hoseok asked.

“Can’t I just hold you close for one second?” Minhyuk said against Hoseok’s shoulder, voice small.

“Of course, you can, Minhyuk,” Hoseok said back. “I would never stop you.”

Minhyuk simply clung harder at that statement. He stayed like that for a few more seconds and then he slowly pulled away, ever so slightly. He only wanted to look at Hoseok’s face. The face of the person he was oh so in love with - as much as he never expected it when they first met. He would give the moon and more for this person to simply look at him as much more than just friends, than just sire and kin or brothers or family or whatever bond they had. Minhyuk just wanted Hoseok to be as in love with him as he was with Hoseok. Before Minhyuk truly realized what he was doing, he leaned down and connected his lips with Hoseok’s in the hopes that anything might change, that something would click in Hoseok’s brain and in Hoseok’s heart and then maybe he would see just who was really standing right in front of him this entire time.

Hoseok did not kiss Minhyuk back, but he also did not pull away.

Still, his lack of reaction told Minhyuk everything he needed to know, and so, as his heart broke, he pulled away from Hoseok entirely. He did not have the will to look at Hoseok, so he looked down. It was quiet for an eternal minute - until Hoseok gently grabbed Minhyuk’s cheek and moved Minhyuk to look at him. “What was that for?” He asked, softly caressing Minhyuk’s cheek. His voice was not angry nor surprised. He truly only wanted an explanation.

Minhyuk took a deep breath. His eyes were still turned downwards, looking at Hoseok’s shoes instead of his eyes. “I’ve liked you for so long, Hoseok,” he said. He finally admitted it. “I thought tonight would be the night but…”

Hoseok sighed, “Minhyuk… I’m so sorry.” Minhyuk looked to the side and took a step back. "Hey," Hoseok took a step forward and gently grabbed Minhyuk's wrist, "I really am so sorry. I knew - I know - how you felt about me, and I always hoped it never came between us because I just-" Hoseok lost his words. He looked away and shook his head, moving his mouth to get the words out. He settled by simply saying, "I don't think I could ever fall in love with you." He looked at Minhyuk. "As funny and courageous and beautiful as you are," he shook his head, "I can't."

Minhyuk looked back at Hoseok. He gulped to swallow the question that threatened to come it. It did not work. "Is it because of Kihyun?"

Hoseok looked at Minhyuk with wide eyes, "how do you know about him?"

Minhyuk scoffed rolling his eyes, "his memory is all over our house, Hoseok. At the top of our stairs. I-" He wondered for a second if he should tell the truth. He could not bring himself to just yet. "I heard Jooheon talking about him and I was able to connect the dots, and well," he shrugged and looked away, putting his hands in his pockets, "you just confirmed it."

Minhyuk heard Hoseok sigh loudly. "Yes, it's because of him," he admitted.

Minhyuk looked at Hoseok. His chest filled up with something ugly, coming from his stomach and crushing his heart and lungs. Minhyuk did not have the need to breathe but he still felt suffocated. "What's so special about him? He left you five hundred years ago!" He emphasized the time.

He probably should not have said that, but since Minhyuk was young, he had always had a problem with watching his mouth when agitated. What he said should have pissed Hoseok off, should have offended him and made him defensive. However, Hoseok just smiled sadly, heartbreakingly sadly. Minhyuk’s insides crumbled.

“He did,” Hoseok simply said, “but I’ve always hoped he would return. He said he would.”

“But it’s been so long,” Minhyuk whispered again. He bit his bottom lip. He felt defeated. Hoseok had that far away look again, the one he always had when thinking about the man in the picture, Kihyun now. That kept him calm. Minhyuk wished that he was not. He wished that Hoseok would get angry at him, pay attention to him who was in front of him instead of thinking of someone who he did not even know was here now - someone he thought was still gone and missing.

Hoseok sighed, “yeah, it is, and I don’t know.” He shrugged, “I’m willing to keep waiting. I fell in love with him a millennium ago. The fact that my feelings for him are still so strong gives me hope. You don’t fall in love with someone like that often. Hyunwoo has even told me that he has never seen a story like ours before in his life and well,” he shrugged again. “It is what it is. I can’t control how I feel. All I know is that I still love him, and therefore, I can’t fall in love with you.” He took a deep breath and let it, looking away, “even though I’ve thought that might be easier than just waiting for the rest of eternity.”

Minhyuk looked at him, eyes wide and shaking. “Y-You’ve thought about me?”

“I think it’s only natural,” Hoseok chuckled naturally. He looked at Minhyuk and the small smile he had on his face dropped, “hey.” He stepped forward to Minhyuk and put his hands on Minhyuk’s cheeks, “hey, don’t cry.” He wiped Minhyuk’s tears away.

Minhyuk snapped away from Hoseok’s hands and used the palms of his hands to away at his tears. When he looked at his hands, he saw that they were tainted red. “Shit,” he muttered.

“Here, let me help,” Hoseok used the sleeves of his jacket to wipe Minhyuk’s face clean.

Minhyuk shook his head, “no, don’t do that. You’ll ruin the jacket.”

“This old piece of trash?” Hoseok chuckled, “who cares about it? It’s black anyways. No one will know. Here.” He gently wiped at Minhyuk’s face until he looked acceptable again. “There, looking dashing again,” he smiled.

Minhyuk looked at him. Hoseok was still smiling. He was not mad. Minhyuk slowly realized the weight of his words, and Hoseok was still not mad at him. "Why aren't you mad?" He asked.

"About what?" Hoseok asked back, "you crying? Why would I? It's my fault, isn't it?"

Minhyuk shook his head, "no, not that, and it's not your fault. I'm talking about what I said. Why aren't you mad over what I said?"

"Ah," Hoseok nodded slowly. He looked down and chuckled, "well, it's not that I'm not mad. I hate when people speak ill of Kihyun. They do it all the time. It's just-" He looked at Minhyuk and shrugged, "you kinda have a point. I'm being stupid for waiting for him, but…" He sighed and shook his head, "I am stupid, and being without Kihyun just makes me feel more stupid, so much so, that I just want him back." Hoseok chuckled again and looked down. It sounded sad. "I'm an idiot…" he muttered.

Minhyuk frowned while listening to him. He took a step forward and placed a hand on Hoseok's shoulder. He shook his head, "you're not an idiot." He let go of Hoseok's shoulder, "you're really in love, aren't you?"

Hoseok sniffed. "Yeah," he choked up. He raised a hand to his eyes and wiped them. "Dang, not me too," he muttered. He looked up at the sky and smiled, "I'm good. I am." His eyes were watery.

"I'm sorry," Minhyuk looked down, "for what I've done and said." He sighed, "I'm the idiot."

Hoseok looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder, mirroring what Minhyuk had done earlier, "don't be like that. You're not." Minhyuk chuckled. He did not believe Hoseok. Hoseok stepped back and looked at his watch. "It's almost time," he said and looked at Minhyuk, "do you just want to go home?"

Minhyuk looked at him with wide eyes, "what?"

Hoseok shrugged, "I don't think we're in the right position to go out with Hyunwoo right now. He'll understand. They'll be many more Blood Moons in the future."

Minhyuk looked down. He honestly debated just leaving, but with the way Hoseok was just now talking about Kihyun, it would break Minhyuk's heart more to know he was the reason they did not meet tonight. "No, it's fine. Let's do the ceremony. Then, we can leave," Minhyuk said, dragging every word out of his body.

"Are you sure?" Hoseok asked. Minhyuk nodded, not being able to speak. He felt like he would take every word back. "Alright," Hoseok grabbed Minhyuk's hand. Their fingers did not intertwine like normally. "Let's go."

Minhyuk was filled with more dread the closer he walked into the house. Kihyun was in there. That was all he could think about. Kihyun was in there. Going up the steps felt heavy. Minhyuk felt like he needed a break every few steps. He had to keep going. For Hoseok, he had to keep going. He could not back out now and beg to leave.

The house's main area was empty save for a few feeders. Hoseok stopped one, Dasom. She was the head feeder, in charge of everything that went on in the house and the well-being of all the other feeders. "Hey, where's Hyunwoo?"

"Ah, Mr. Hoseok," Dasom smiled cheerfully, excitedly, "Mr. Hyunwoo has been looking all over for you. He is in the sitting room on the second floor with all the others. It's past the stairs in the back. You won't miss it." She clapped her hands and then used them to cup her mouth. Her eyes showed a lot of happiness.

Hoseok raised an eyebrow and nodded, "alright." He looked at Minhyuk, "let's go then." Minhyuk nodded slowly. They started walking towards the stairs. "I wonder what has her so happy. Blood Moons are normally so stressful for head feeders."

Minhyuk had a feeling he knew. "Yeah…" he just said softly. Together they walked up the grand stairs located at the side of the main room.

“This house is huge,” Hoseok looked around, “and it’s so pretty. All the rooms near this main staircase are feeder rooms. Hyunwoo told me he designed it that way since this is the area most visiting vampires will be at.”

Minhyuk hummed, not feeling anything, “that sounds smart.” He was not quite paying attention to what Hoseok was talking about. It was hard to. With what was coming, Minhyuk felt like he was losing Hoseok forever.

They made it to the top of the stairs. This area of the second floor was built like a balcony that looked over the first floor. The top of the stairs led to a balcony that opened to the front of the house. Minhyuk and Hoseok turned the corner to walk to the back of the second floor. In the back area, there was a set of couches right before the door that led to the patio balcony. Hyunwoo and Jooheon were sitting on separate adjacent couches parallel to each other. There was a couch facing away from Minhyuk and Hoseok, and two people were sitting there - all were chatting together. Minhyuk already knew who they were. He felt his heart constrict. Hyungwon was serving drinks, but he stopped when he saw them.

“Oh, did Jooheon’s friend arrive?” Hoseok asked.

Hyunwoo noticed them. The smile he had on his face grew. “Hoseok, I was wondering where you were,” he motioned towards them to come closer. One of the people facing away from them - Kihyun, it had to be Kihyun - flinched. The other turned to look at him. That person was Changkyun.

“I told you I was going to check out the gardens,” Hoseok laughed. They walked closer to the sitting area. “They’re really pretty. Good job with the-” He paused all of a sudden. Minhyuk turned to look at him to see why he paused, and he saw him looking at the back of Kihyun’s head. “Wait a minute,” he whispered.

“Hoseok,” Hyunwoo’s smile softened, “there’s someone here that was asking for you.”

At that moment, Kihyun stood up. He took a deep breath and turned around. He looked shy and out of place. Hoseok’s grip on Minhyuk’s hand tightened painfully. “Ki… Kihyun?” Hoseok’s voice broke.

Kihyun let out a breath. He scratched the back of his neck, “hi.”

Minhyuk felt Hoseok’s grip on his hand loosen, and almost by instinct, his own grip on Hoseok’s hand tightened. Hoseok looked at him with wide, glassy eyes. With that look, he begged Minhyuk to, please, let him go. Minhyuk could not move. He could not say why. Not truthfully at least. In his heart, he knew he held on because he did not want Hoseok to go back to Kihyun, but that was selfish. Minhyuk did not want to be selfish. He let go of Hoseok’s hand like it burned to touch it.

Hoseok did not even waste a second once he was free. He instantly appeared right in front of Kihyun. His hands were raised in front of him. “Ki-Kihyun, is that… is that you?” He asked. His fingers inched closer to Kihyun’s face, but they stopped before they could touch Kihyun.

Kihyun let out a breathy laugh. He grabbed one of Hoseok’s hands and brought it up to his cheek. “I’m home,” he simply said.

Hoseok let out a choked up noise before he brought Kihyun into a crushing hug. He let out a loud wailing noise and by the way his shoulders bounced up, Minhyuk could tell that he was crying. Hard. “It’s you,” Hoseok said, “it’s really you. You’re here. Right here.”

Kihyun wrapped his arms around Hoseok, gripping tightly at his clothes. “I’m right here. I’m so sorry,” he said. His eyes were closed as he rested his head on Hoseok’s shoulder. Minhyuk could see the tears breaking through Kihyun’s eyelids.

Minhyuk felt awkward there, standing right behind the sitting area. Everyone looked so happy. Kihyun had finally come back. This was a moment of celebration, yet Minhyuk felt like doing anything but celebrating. Hyungwon looked at him in concern. Minhyuk looked away.

Hoseok broke away from the hug and placed his hands on Kihyun’s cheeks, “how- why- when- are you-” He shook his head, “I don’t even know what to say right now.”

Kihyun chuckled. He moved his hands to Hoseok’s face and wiped away stray tears. “Me neither,” he said.

“How did you…” Hoseok lost his words again.

Jooheon stood up, “I met Kihyun decades ago when I first started working for the Grell Family back in the States. At first, I didn’t know he was our Kihyun, but when I found out, I knew that I had to do everything in my power to get him to come back with me.”

Hoseok smiled. His eyes refilled with tears, and he pulled Kihyun into another hug. “Thank you, Jooheon,” he said.

Hyungwon walked up to Hyunwoo and put a hand on his shoulder, “sir, the moon is turning red.”

Hyunwoo gasped, “oh right, the Blood Moon.” He stood up. Hoseok and Kihyun separated and looked at him. “We should start heading out for the ceremony,” he said.

Changkyun then stood up. Hoseok looked at him. He grabbed Kihyun’s hand and squeezed it. Kihyun looked between Hoseok and Changkyun. “Ah, right,” he pulled Hoseok towards Changkyun and grabbed Chngkyun’s hand. “Hoseok, this is Changkyun,” Kihyun said while looking at Hoseok. “I’m not exactly his sire, but I took over the role after his actual piece-of-shit sire disappeared.”

“Hello,” Changkyun bowed slightly.

“It’s a rather long story, and we’ll tell you later, but we have to go right now,” Kihyun said, motioning to Hyunwoo with his head.

“Ah, right,” Hoseok nodded, “let’s go.” He looked at Minhyuk, who had been starting to feel completely forgotten, “Min, shall we go?”

Minhyuk looked at Hoseok. "Ah, right," he nodded and walked towards them, looking down. He did not want to look at Kihyun.

Hoseok offered Minhyuk his hand, and Minhyuk was not sure if he should take it. Was it right to do that now after everything that had happened? Minhyuk looked at Hoseok's other hand. Its fingers were intertwined with Kihyun's, and when Minhyuk looked at Kihyun's other hand, he saw that it was holding Changkyun's hand.

Oh, that was right. With everything that had been going on in his mind, Minhyuk had forgotten that it was common and completely normal for sires to hold hands with their kin.

Minhyuk grabbed Hoseok's free hand, and all together, they walked to the open balcony that faced the backyard, where all the guests were waiting for Hyunwoo to give his speech.

Hyunwoo was already standing by the railing. One hand was on the railing, and the other was holding Jooheon's hand. He turned to look at Hoseok and smiled again, "well, your hands look occupied."

Hoseok chuckled. He brought up Kihyun's hand and kissed it. "Finally," he said. Kihyun looked at him and smiled.

Minhyuk looked away. He already wished it was like old times when Minhyuk held on to one of Hoseok's hands while Hyunwoo held on to the other. He looked up to the sky. The moon was starting to tint red. It already looked so beautiful, and it was bound to get prettier the darker the red got. However, unlike with other red moons, Minhyuk was not as excited and ecstatic about it.

Hyunwoo turned to face the guests. "May I have your attention, please?" He said loud and clear. The small conversations that had been going on stopped. "First, I would like to thank you all for coming to celebrate the red moon festival with my family. To host this event is a great privilege and I am immensely grateful that I was chosen to host this one." Claps from the crowd were heard. Hyunwoo took a deep breath, "I had a whole speech planned and rehearsed for tonight, but it seems that I had to make some changes, and I want to explain those changes without getting too emotional," he looked down and held tighter to the railing. Jooheon placed his free hand on Hyunwoo's shoulder for comfort. Kihyun rested his head on Hoseok's shoulder.

Hyunwoo shook his head, "no, I’m not going to cry. I did that earlier already." He looked up at the crowd, "the Blood Moon is a time where vampires wish for their deepest desires in the hopes that they might come true." He paused for a second, "for centuries, my family has only had one wish, and that was for our wayward prince to come home." Minhyuk's eyes widened and he looked at Kihyun. Kihyun scoffed and shook his head, a smile resting on his lips. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to say tonight that our prince has come home," Hyunwoo turned his back and motioned to Kihyun.

Kihyun stepped forward, letting go of Hoseok's hand, and did a small wave to the crowd. Gasps and a few mutterings were heard amongst the crowd but soon, applauses spread through the crowd.

"The wayward prince?" Minhyuk muttered to himself. Flashes of memories were starting to pour into his head.

"It's just a nickname we've always had for him," Hoseok answered back.

Kihyun stepped back and grabbed Hoseok's hand again. Hyunwoo continued to speak, "our wish came true. The Son Family is completed again. It took centuries, but it happened. I'm not saying this only because it's important to my family, but also because it shows that wishes can come true, that the Blood Moon is powerful-" He kept speaking.

Kihyun sighed, "I'm glad I'm back home." He looked at Hoseok, "would you come speak alone with me? After the speech? I'm sure I have a lot of explaining to do."

Hoseok hummed, "sure, let's do that. I'm sure there's a library or office we can sneak into around here."

Kihyun chuckled, "alright." They turned back to look at the front. Minhyuk's gut twisted at the thought of Hoseok and Kihyun being alone.

The speech lasted a few more minutes. Hyunwoo was able the culminate it at the start of the moon deepening its red. Everyone looked at it change colors, and Minhyuk was so hypnotized by it that it forgot for that moment the pain in his heart.

“It’s been a while,” Kihyun interrupted his happiness.

“What do you mean? The last Blood Moon was not that long ago,” Hoseok looked at him.

“Yeah,” Kihyun agreed, “however, it’s been a long time since the last time I spent the Blood Moon with you.”

Minhyuk resisted the urge to ‘ugh’ and roll his eyes.

“Oh, that’s right,” Hoseok looked up at the moon again. “Back then, the Blood Moon Festival wasn’t quite a festival. It was more of a private celebration between families.”

Kihyun chuckled, nodding, “just me, you, and Hyunwoo. How times have changed.”

Hoseok hummed, “our family is definitely bigger.”

Kihyun chuckled, “that’s true. I don’t mind it. I’ve already known Jooheon for decades, and he’s amazing,” he leaned forward and Minhyuk noticed that he was looking at him, “and I’m sure that Minhyuk and I will get along just fine.”

“Haha, yeah,” Minhyuk forced himself to answer and looked away, up to the front where Hyunwoo was and then back to the sky. Hoseok squeezed his hand, not in anger or as a warning. Minhyuk wanted to believe that it was in compassion.

Hyunwoo did a final wave to the crowd and turned to face his family, letting go of Jooheon’s hand. “Come on, we can go back in,” he said, motioning them to head through the door.

Hoseok let go of Minhyuk’s hand, but he did not let go of Kihyun’s. Kihyun let go of Changkyun. “Shall we go speak?” Kihyun asked Hoseok. Hoseok nodded.

“I say I would consider this night a success,” Hyunwoo said as they entered back into the house.

Jooheon nodded, “I agree. You did great, Hyunwoo!”

Hyunwoo smiled and looked at his youngest kin. “It was more than great thanks to you bringing Kihyun back,” he said. “I would’ve never thought that it’d be you who’d bring him back.”

Jooheon snickered and brushed his shoulder, “you shouldn’t underestimate me. I have my ways. I’m persuasive.”

Kihyun rolled his eyes, “very. All you did was endlessly beg.”

“Well, it worked!” Jooheon looked at Kihyun, “you’re here!”

“I am. Thank you,” Kihyun smiled.

“Hyungwon,” Hoseok turned to Hyungwon. The feeder had been standing inside by the balcony door all of the ceremony, listening to the ceremony speech from there since he was not allowed to come out with the family.

“Yes, sir?” Hyungwon held his empty tray with both hands in front of him politely.

“Can you tell me where I could find the nearest office or library or someplace where Kihyun and I could speak privately?” Hoseok asked.

“Of course,” Hyungwon nodded. He motioned to one of the hallways, “at the east wing, there is a wooden door with lions carved into it. It’s a small library. You should be fine there.”

Hoseok nodded, “thank you.”

Kihyun turned to Changkyun, “you’re gonna be fine on your own for a few minutes, right?” He put one hand on Changkyun’s cheek and ran the other through his hair. “I’ll be back soon.”

Changkyun rolled his eyes. He gently grabbed Kihyun’s wrists and pushed his hands away from his face, “yes, Kihyun. I will be fine.”

Jooheon appeared next to Changkyun and wrapped a hand around his neck, “don’t worry, Ki. I’ve got him.”

Kihyun smiled, “alright then. Behave, you two.”

“Yes,” Jooheon and Changkyun said in conjunction.

Kihyun nodded and turned to Hoseok, “okay, let’s go.” He grabbed Hoseok’s hand again, and Minhyuk, watching from a few meters away, frowned. He knew he should not be since skinship was a normal thing for vampires, but the fact that it was Kihyun doing it - anything Kihyun did caused an ugly stir in Minhyuk’s insides.

Together, Hoseok and Kihyun walked towards the east wing. Minhyuk had the strongest need to follow them. He would have, had a hand at his wrist not stop him. “What are you thinking?” Minhyuk heard Hyungwon’s voice by his ear.

Minhyuk laughed. At the moment, it felt like the most stupid question ever asked. "What do you think I'm thinking? Everything and nothing," he scoffed. "You just had to show them a place they could speak at, huh?"

"Well, what did you want me to say? No? He's basically my boss' son, Minhyuk," Hyungwon rolled his eyes.

"So?" Minhyuk huffed and crossed his arms.

"So stop being irrational," Hyungwon frowned. "I'm sorry this is happening, but it is what it is."

Minhyuk did not answer to that. "Hyungwon!" Hyunwoo called the feeder from the other side of the room where he stood chatting with Jooheon and Changkyun. Hyungwon turned to face him. "Can you bring some drinks for Changkyun and us?"

Hyungwon bowed, "of course, I'll be right back." He turned back to Minhyuk and whispered as a threat and an order, "don't do anything stupid." Then, he left.

Minhyuk was never good at following orders.

Minhyuk kept his steps as quiet as possible. He did not quite have to worry about his presence. The huge amount of vampires that were in the nearby vicinity was confusing the signals that let vampires know how near they were to one another. Neither Kihyun or Hoseok should get suspicious with Minhyuk being on the other side of the library door listening in.

Minhyuk found the library door with the lions quite easily. He put his hands in the shaped wood and put his ear against the door. The sound was a little muffled but Minhyuk could still understand most of what was being said.

"Well then, enough talking about how much we’ve physically changed," that was Kihyun's voice, "let's go into what I really wanted to talk about."

“Sorry, I can’t help but mention how stunning you look right now,” Hoseok answered.

Kihyun scoffed. “You’re acting like you haven’t looked in the mirror today. You look so amazing, Hoseok. Anyways,” he paused, “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Since the beginning, I guess. The beginning is a start,” Hoseok suggested.

“Yeah,” Kihyun laughed. “From the beginning…” there was a pause. Minhyuk leaned in even closer to the door thinking that maybe he just could not hear what they were saying anymore. He heard a sigh though. “That night, I’m sorry I left before you woke up.”

“Oh, that night…” Hoseok’s voice was heard low. “I-It’s fine. I did know you were leaving. We had settled everything the night before.”

“I still did leave without notice,” Kihyun insisted, “I just - I knew that if I spent one more second with you, if I tried to say goodbye one last time, I would never leave.”

“Ah,” Hoseok let out a noise of acknowledgment, “I’m… not going to lie. I still do remember that night clearly. I woke up and I just - I freaked out. I looked everywhere for you because I didn’t want to believe you were actually gone.” Hoseok paused, “I thought I’d be fine living without you for some time, but that day I instantly realized that I couldn’t, and I regretted letting you go ever since.”

“Hoseokkie…” Kihyun said softly. Minhyuk almost did not hear it. “I don’t regret leaving.” Something contracted inside Minhyuk’s heart, and his eyebrows knitted together. He could not believe Kihyun could say something like that in front of Hoseok. “I’ve met so many different types of people and have done so many different things,” Kihyun continued, “but I do regret not taking you with me. Every day, I would beat myself up for not pushing you harder to come with me.”

Hoseok chuckled, “I regret not coming with you. I went looking for you, you know? At the beginning, I was always too afraid to stray too far from home, which is what kept me away from you in the first place, but as the decades went by, I got less afraid, because finding you was more important than how I felt, so I guess you can say that, in the search for you, I’ve also met all types of people and done all sorts of things. It was a shame that we never coincided.”

“We’re both idiots then,” Kihyun laughed. “I do think that it was stupid of me to just leave like that. I might have already been an old vampire by the time I left, but I was still terribly naive. You have no idea the kind of shit I got into and all the stories I have to tell you.”

“We did always stay in the same area back then,” Hoseok said, “that was my fault. I was so afraid of leaving what I already knew. It hurts me to know that I kept you from exploring the world out there. You were always the freer spirit. I’m so sorry.”

“No,” Kihyun firmly answered, “you don’t have to be.”

“I am though,” Hoseok said back, “if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have left the way you did.”

“It wasn’t your fault that I stayed away for so long,” Kihyun said softly.

“Ah…” Hoseok’s tone lowered. He sounded more down, and Minhyuk suddenly wished to break through the door and comfort him. “Why… Why was that?”

“Time passed,” Kihyun simply said, voice apologetic. “I traveled the country, then thrown into China. From China, I traveled to Japan. There was so much turmoil where I was. I spent months hiding in forests and caves hoping things would calm down. From Japan, I traveled to Siberia and I kept going West. By the time, I felt like I had enough time to recollect and see where the hell I was and what time it was,” Minhyuk heard him gulp, “I realized that it had been two hundred years since I last saw you.” Kihyun’s voice cracked a little as he kept speaking, “I had thought, shit, it’s been so long. Is he waiting for me? Is he mad at me? Does he want to see me again?”

“Kihyun…” Hoseok said softly, “I’ve never stopped waiting for you.”

Kihyun let out a soft laugh, “I see that now, but back then, I thought that it was too late. I thought that you moved away from where we lived and that I would never find you, so I just kept going. I didn’t know where I was going, but I didn’t think I had a choice.” There was a long pause. “Around two hundred years ago, I was in Europe. I had formed ties with a family there that let me stay with them. It was during that time that I heard about Hyunwoo again. He had just started the feeder house, and news about that spread quickly throughout the vampire community. I was so happy to know that you guys were okay. It filled me with so much energy and happiness, but I still couldn’t go back. I thought that I would not be accepted anymore. I would be pushed away for being gone for so long, so I didn’t say anything about being related to the Son Family of Korea - even though people would constantly ask if I knew who they were because they knew I was Korean.”

“What made you think that we wouldn’t take you back? Our family isn’t like that, and Hyunwoo and I promised that we’d wait for you,” Hoseok cut in.

“I don’t know,” Kihyun sighed, “I honestly don't. I think I was mad with myself, mad that I let the time pass without realizing - which is stupid because I kept letting more time pass. I think I was punishing myself without realizing that I might be punishing you, too.”

“Kihyun…” Hoseok breathed out.

There was another pause, and Minhyuk wished he could see what was happening. He was tired of just listening. What were Kihyun and Hoseok doing? “I heard about Minhyuk,” Kihyun suddenly said. Minhyuk’s eyes widened.

“You did?” Hoseok asked.

“Yeah,” Kihyun chuckled, “the beautiful and cunning feeder that worked for Hyunwoo. Every vampire was wrapped around his finger. For the longest time, I wondered if you were one of those vampires. If you were, then there was nothing I could do about it. Then, I heard that you turned him into a vampire, and I just…” There was silence. “I thought that I’d lost, that you had moved on. This was officially the end and it was my fault,” his voice cracked again.

“Oh no, Kihyun, you had it all wrong,” Hoseok said, urgently almost, “Minhyuk and I never had that type of relationship. The conditions of his turning had nothing to do with us having some sort of romantic relationship.” Minhyuk’s inside twisted nastily at that truth.

“I know that now,” Kihyun said, “but I wouldn’t have blamed you. He’s beautiful, and he seems nice.”

“He is - both,” Hoseok agreed. “He’s been my closest friend all this time, and I really wish for the two of you to get along.”

Minhyuk looked down. He felt both hurt and guilt over what he was hearing - hurt knowing that he really never meant anything more than a friend to Hoseok, and guilty for the bitterness he felt because of Kihyun. Hoseok wanted them to get along, but Minhyuk still honestly could not see that happening any time soon.

“That would be nice. I’d like that,” Kihyun said. He then continued with his story, “by the start of the nineteenth century, I came to the United States to stay with the Grell Family. They’re an old New World family, so it was really an honor to know that they would let me stay with them the entire time I was there. It was there a few decades later that I met Jooheon when he came to the family, and it was the most surreal feeling hearing him say that he was directly related to Hyunwoo. I… could’ve cried, but I kept quiet instead. It was on one Blood Moon that I broke down and told Jooheon the truth of who I was. All he did then was excitedly hug me and tell me that our family had been waiting for me. I still clearly remember that and I did not want to believe him. For the longest time, I didn’t want to believe that you had still been waiting. It had been too long. There was no way.”

“Little did you know,” Hoseok added light-heartedly.

“Little did I know,” Kihyun chuckled. “Changkyun became a fixture in my life around ten years ago, and because of the circumstances surrounding his turn, he really wanted to get out of the Grell Family. That’s when I started considering coming back to Korea. In all this time, I tried my best to stay out but… I was starting to think that maybe it was time to come back. Changkyun had never been here and he had wanted to know more about the country his parents came from, and Jooheon constantly kept reassuring me that I would be welcomed back, so I finally thought that it was time. Because of Minhyuk, I thought that I would never be with you again, but… I still really wanted to see you. I dreamed about you every day, and I was getting tired of longing for you, so I took a leap of faith and now I’m here again, right in front of you, and it all still feels like a dream.”

“Really?” Hoseok chuckled, “I see you right now and I keep thinking that you’re going to disappear any second no-”

Someone grabbed Minhyuk’s hand. Minhyuk jumped in surprise and stepped away from the door. When he looked at the person who had grabbed him, he saw Hyungwon, glaring and with a frown on his face. “What are you doing here?” He mouthed.

“What are you doing here?” Minhyuk mouthed back. He motioned to the door, “they’ll feel you.”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes. He started pulling Minhyuk away from the door to another place. Minhyuk wanted to ask where but he could not do it without risking Kihyun and Hoseok hearing him, so he allowed himself to be pulled, assuming Hyungwon was just going to pull him into an empty room.

They ended up on the roof. They had jumped from an empty balcony to the roof and then climbed all the way to the top. It gave them an amazing view of the moon, still so big and red. From all the way up there, Minhyuk could hear the yells and cheers from all the vampire guests. Minhyuk was sure that they would soon strap in a feeder and retire for the night with them.

Hyungwon sat next to him and used his foot to scrape at the roof tiles. He sighed, “didn’t I say not to go after them?”

Minhyuk looked up at the moon, “well it’s not like I’ve ever been that good at following orders.”

“Idiot,” Hyungwon rolled his eyes. His voice then softened, “what did you hear?”

“Everything, I think. I don’t know,” Minhyuk shook his head and looked down. “All this time I had thought that Kihyun had left without any sort of notice or anything. I thought that maybe it was like a terrible breakup or something, but it wasn’t. It was mutual, and Kihyun was supposed to come back eventually.”

Hyungwon hummed. “From what I know,” he said, “Kihyun liked traveling, and he started to feel trapped being in the family. He wanted to go out and explore the world while Hoseok and Hyunwoo were comfortable staying in their lands. So he just told them one day that he was going to go out on his own and come back after he was done.”

Minhyuk looked at Hyungwon, “how do you know that?”

“Hyunwoo told me all of Kihyun’s story a few years ago when I asked,” Hyungwon chuckled, looking away, eyes unfocused like he was thinking back to that time.

“Are you serious?” Minhyuk furrowed his eyebrows. He scoffed and shook his head, “honestly, how is it possible that everyone knew about him and they would not even tell me his name? Why didn’t you? I thought you were my friend.”

“I am,” Hyungwon said, “that’s why I didn’t tell you. The love of your life’s love of their life - did you really want to know anything about them?”

Minhyuk stayed quiet, thinking about it. He looked away. “It would’ve been nice,” he muttered. He really did not know. “Why did Hyunwoo even tell you about it? No offense, but if it was back then, I don’t see why he would give a fresh feeder than kind of information,” he looked back at Hyungwon.

Hyungwon shook his head dismissively of Minhyuk’s comment. “No, you’re right. I shouldn’t have been asking and I shouldn’t even have the right to ask as a feeder. However,” Hyungwon sighed, “I had seen Kihyun before, and I thought that it was my right to know who that man was, so I fought it.”

“Wait, hold on!” Minhyuk moved his body until it was completely facing Hyungwon, “what do you mean you saw Kihyun?!”

Hyungwon raised an eyebrow, “didn’t I tell you earlier? I don’t think Kihyun was every fully gone. I think he was just hidden.” He sighed again, bringing his feet to his chest and resting his cheek on his hand.

Hyungwon remembered being a young child of twelve years, right around the corner from thirteen. He was still getting used to his new surroundings. Sure, he had lived in this house for around six months now, but every time he went to explore, he found something new or got lost. Luckily, he knew where the library was, and he was craving to go there.

There was a big gathering of vampires tonight. Before she put him to bed, Jihyun - Hyungwon considered her to be the head of the house - had told him to not go out. If a vampire found him, she could not guarantee that it would end nicely. Hyungwon did not know much about vampires - just that they existed and they liked to party and that they likely sucked the blood of the other humans that lived in the house with him. The owner of the house, which to Hyungwon’s surprise was not Jihyun, knew of his existence, but they have never crossed paths after the time Hyungwon was caught resting in the gardens of the estate. He had let Hyungwon stay in the house until he reached adulthood as long as Jihyun took full care of him and he was not exposed to the nightly events that went on in the house - whatever those were. His name was Hyunwoo, and he was an old vampire. Hyungwon liked to imagine that he had a hump on his back and a really long beard even if he knew that was not true.

Anyway, Hyungwon digressed. There was a big vampire party going on tonight, and he technically should not be out of his room but he really wanted to go to the library to read a book, so he was out of his room. Luckily, it seemed like all the vampires were downstairs considering that the laughing and clinks of drinks Hyungwon heard were far away, so he should not have a problem getting to the library. Hyungwon had a flashlight in hand, and he debated turning it on considering it could attract attention from the people downstairs, and he definitely did not want that. He was too young to have his blood sucked by a crazy vampire and die. The night was dark and stormy, so he decided to let his way be illuminated by lightning.

Hyungwon tiptoed his way to the library. He passed the stairs as quickly as he could so that no vampire could see him, and he succeeded. He thought he was home-free when he reached the door of the library, but when he opened the door, he encountered a dark figure standing by a bookshelf. On instinct, Hyungwon turned on the flashlight and covered his mouth to not let out a scream.

The not-so-dark-anymore figure covered his eyes and hissed. He slowly uncovered his eyes and looked at Hyungwon. Hyungwon moved his hands away from his mouth. The figure looked human, though much paler and with his eyes not the typical dark brown Hyungwon was used to. They were more reddish-brown (Hyungwon would later notice that reddish-brown was the typical vampire eye color).

“Oh, you’re a child,” the person said. His voice was higher and softer than Hyungwon expected. It made him seem less like a threat.

“Y-Yes?” Hyungwon wondered if he was even supposed to answer that. He had never seen this person here. Jihyun always warned him to never talk to strangers, even though he never left the house.

“What’s a child doing here?” the person turned to fully face Hyungwon. There was something unnatural about his movements, but Hyungwon could not quite pinpoint it. It was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up though.

"I-I was looking for a book t-to read before I went to bed," Hyungwon answered. He gulped in fear.

The person tilted his neck in confusion. "Do you live here?" He asked.

Hyungwon nodded, "y-yes, M-Miss Jihyun takes care of me."

The person stayed quiet. He crossed his arms and rubbed his chin. "I wonder what compelled Hyunwoo to let you stay. He never tended to mess with humans that weren't feeders or guardians."

Hyungwon shook his head, "Miss Jihyun begged to let me stay. I don't know anything about Mr. Hyunwoo." He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, "w-who are you?"

"Me?" The person put a hand on his chest. He looked around and put his index finger on his lips. "My name is Kihyun, and you can't let anyone know I'm here. What about you?"

"Hyungwon," Hyungwon simply answered, "what are you doing here?" He thought of the party downstairs. Since Hyungwon had never seen Kihyun around with the other people during the daylight, that could only mean one thing. "Are you a vampire?"

Kihyun smiled and nodded. He looked around the library. "I'm trying to find a few old scrolls that might have some instructions over the passing of sireship, but I can't find anything," he sighed and looked at Hyungwon. "Say," he walked to the young kid and kneeled in front of him, "how well do you know this library? Have you ever seen a scroll of papers that look like they might disintegrate at any moment?"

Hyungwon took a step back. He had never been this close to a vampire. He never had plans to. His heart was ready to explode. "No," he shook his head, "I go to this library often during the day for my studies."

"I see," Kihyun nodded, smile falling. He sighed and stood back up, "what am I gonna do? Hyunwoo prided himself on keeping vampire history and stuff. Did he lose interest?" Hyungwon watched without answering. He was petrified. Kihyun looked at him again. "You seem nice. I hope you do well and live a long life," he said. "Remember not to tell Hyunwoo about me. I'm not ready for him to know about me being here," he sighed and shook his head. He put his hand on Hyungwon's head. It was cold, so cold. "Well," he smiled, "bye, kid."

With the crack of lightning, he was gone.

Hyungwon stood paralyzed. The flashlight fell off his hands. His lips trembled and he could not hold it any longer. He let out a big scream and ran out the door of the library. "Jihyun!" He yelled for his caretaker's name.

He ended up stopping the entire party on its tracks, and Hyunwoo was not quite happy about it - that was, until he heard what Hyungwon saw.

"Now I realize that he was talking about Changkyun," Hyungwon muttered.

Minhyuk looked at him in shock, "wait, Kihyun visited?"

Hyungwon looked at him and nodded, unamused, "yeah, did you not hear everything I just said?"

Minhyuk shook his head, "no, I did, but like? Why? How? Why didn't he just reveal himself?"

Hyungwon furrowed his eyebrows. He sighed, "you definitely weren't listening to me. He didn't want to show himself. He was just there to find some scrolls or whatever. Hyunwoo later told me he kept them hidden and preserved elsewhere because of the fact that they're so old."

Minhyuk frowned and turned his body towards the gardens again. He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head there. "It doesn't matter anymore anyways," he muttered, "he's here. I'm doomed."

Hyungwon hummed, nodding, "yup, the wayward prince has finally found his way back home."

Minhyuk jumped again and he turned to Hyungwon, "what is that all about? The wayward prince? Hoseok said it was a nickname, but why?"

"Didn't you know?" Hyungwon shook his head, "ah, right, you didn't know anything." Minhyuk narrowed his eyes. He knew it was true, but he still felt a little offended. "Kihyun was a prince before he was a vampire," Hyungwon explained. Minhyuk's eyes widened. "Well, not exactly a prince, but he was from a noble family, high enough that he was betrothed to a woman in line for the throne. He ran away before any of that could happen," Hyungwon continued, "Hoseok and he met after that." He turned to Minhyuk, "why are you caught up over the whole wayward prince thing?"

Minhyuk looked away. He returned to his previous position with his knees up and his head resting on them. "It's because of something that happened to me when I was alive," he said.

Before Minhyuk had met Hyunwoo and was thrown into the world of vampires and feeders, he was just trying to survive any way he could. Through lots of trials and tribulations, he ended up at a brothel house. He thought that it would be a stepping stone, that he'd be out as quickly as he was in, but it has been years, and he was still in the place he started.

Minhyuk guessed it made sense. He got clients, many clients, wealthy clients - rich men with wives and children leading double lives. The kind of clients the other girls there would kill for. They thought Minhyuk should be grateful. They thought that he should appreciate the fact that other men were willing to pay for him, but they did not know. It was hard, harder. Minhyuk did not want to say the girls did not have it hard either. However, for him, the men he saw did not want to be attracted to him, to men. They used him for whatever fantasy they had and throughout the whole process, they would beat and berate him out of pure hatred for themselves - only for the end of it to sometimes even refuse to pay him.

The last client had been particularly bad. He left Minhyuk with a split lip, bruised, and a black eye, plus the spots all throughout his body. He had become undesirable for the time being and unable to make money for the brothel house, so he had been kicked out until he could work again.

It had been four days since. The little money Minhyuk had ran out, and he was not sure where he was supposed to stay for the night. It was getting colder. Minhyuk was beginning to doubt he will survive the night.

It was late. Street vendors were beginning to close down the shops, and soon the streets will be left with only the most dangerous. Minhyuk walked down a more run-down area of the village hoping to find an empty place he could settle in. He wore a hood to cover his identity and keep himself warm. He also looked down and kept to himself so that no one would see his swollen face. He did not need any nosy person to loudly comment on how terrible he looked.

“Hey, you, kid!”

Minhyuk paused. On a relatively empty street like this, Minhyuk had an inkling that whoever just spoke had spoken to him. He turned to the direction he heard the voice and saw a woman standing in front of a run-down shack. He pointed to himself in confusion.

The woman nodded, “of course, you. You child, you look cold. Come inside.” The woman’s clothes were dirty, and her hair was matted beyond help. She did not look trustworthy but Minhyuk did not really have a choice. He took slow steps to her home and entered it right before her. He kept his hood up in case she threw him out for how he looked.

Acts of kindness like this were rare though, and Minhyuk was starting to wonder what might the woman want. “I don’t have anything to pay for your hospitality,” Minhyuk said as he looked around. Strange symbols were painted on the wall and weird artifacts were scattered around the room.

“My dear,” the woman chuckled as she closed the door. Minhyuk was starting to get a bad feeling from. “I don’t want anything from you,” she walked towards Minhyuk. She stepped in front of him and moved his hood down, revealing his face.

“Hey! What are you-” Minhyuk was caught off guard by the woman grabbing his face.

“Ah, yes,” the woman observed him. “You are indeed beautiful. I can see why they will be so smitten with you.”

“What are you talking about? Do you know who I am?” Minhyuk asked. He pushed her hands away and stepped back.

“Of course, I do, Minhyuk,” she smiled. “I know so much about you. You are as bright as the sun. You shine even in darkness. That’s why I called you here.”

Minhyuk was sure he made a mistake coming here. This woman was crazy but, “how do you know my name?”

The woman smiled again. She walked to the table where a big bowl full of water sat. “Would you like me to read your fortune, Minhyuk? I can even tell your future.”

Minhyuk narrowed his eyes, “I don’t believe in that.”

The woman smirked, “you don’t have to.” She motioned to the chair at the other side of the table, “take a seat, will you?”

Minhyuk looked at the chair. He wearily walked towards it and sat down. “How do you know my name?”

The woman would not stop smiling and even that was making Minhyuk uncomfortable. “Soon, so many people will know your name, Minhyuk,” she said as she sat down.

Minhyuk raised an eyebrow and crossed his hands, “that doesn't explain anything.”

The woman did not answer. She scooted her chair towards the table and brought the bowl of water towards her. “Ah, yes, this bowl can tell anyone’s future. Let’s see what it says about yours,” she looked down at the bowl.

Minhyuk sighed. With the way things were going, “let’s see if I have a future.”

The woman tapped the water and then stared at it for a few seconds. “Ah yes,” she nodded, “just what I thought.”

“What?” Minhyuk raised an eyebrow.

“You’re the one that’s going to work for the man himself,” the woman said. She chuckled, "he'll treat you well."

“Who? The king? I already see a few of his aids so I wouldn’t doubt it,” Minhyuk scoffed. He did not believe a word she was saying.

The woman looked at him. She chuckled, “not quite, but sure.” She looked back at the water, “your life will definitely improve drastically. You’re going to be happy for a long time.”

Minhyuk rolled his eyes. He stood up, “okay, these things seem pretty ordinary. Anyone could say this fortune.” He bowed, “I thank you for letting me stay but I think I will seek shelter somewhere else.” The woman did not mind him. She kept staring at the water, eyebrows furrowed. Minhyuk definitely thought that she was crazy. He turned to walk out the door when he heard her gasp and cover her mouth. Minhyuk looked at her in surprise.

“The wayward prince will return at the rise of the Blood Moon. Oh my,” she muttered and looked at Minhyuk. Her eyes showed surprise, happiness, but also pity. “Minhyuk, I’m so sorry,” she said softly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, so it’s fine,” Minhyuk said, cautiously, “I will go now.”

“I appreciate the offer, but no thank you,” Minhyuk started to walk towards the door.

“Should I tell them? It won’t happen for a long time. It’s too early for them to know,” the woman talked to herself. “Minhyuk!” She suddenly yelled out. Minhyuk turned to her, scared. The woman calmed down, “something I can tell you. Vampires aren’t as scary as they seem.”

“Right,” Minhyuk nodded slowly, "that's because they aren't real." He turned back to the door. “Why did I walk in here again?” he asked himself as he rushed out the door and into the cold night. “I’m a fucking stupid idiot.”

There was a pause after Minhyuk told that story. “I used to think that destiny was not written in stone, but now I think about that crazy old witch lady and everything she said and now - I’m not so sure,” Minhyuk sighed, “the wayward prince was meant to come home. It was said a hundred years ago.”

Hyungwon did not react as he looked at Minhyuk. “I don’t think so,” he ended up saying. “That woman never gave you any real information. Witches are never supposed to say your actual future. It was all vague, and Kihyun was always meant to come home, so…”

“Kihyun was part of my destiny. That’s so weird. Why?” Minhyuk muttered. He asked that more to himself than to Hyungwon.

Hyungwon still answered. “I don’t know,” he shook his head, “but maybe because of how intertwined Hoseok and your relationship has become. Maybe your fortune is his fortune.”

Minhyuk let out a small laugh, “that kinda sounds romantic. It’s a shame that it was not meant to be. Ever.”

Hyungwon scooted closer to Minhyuk and wrapped an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Look, Minhyuk, I’m so sorry. I may not know anything about love and romance, but… I do know that you do love him. You talk endlessly about him whenever we are together, and I also do know that love is ever-changing and transforming and dying, so maybe your love for him will change, or maybe his love for Kihyun will die.”

Minhyuk scoffed, “it would’ve been great if it had died in the last five hundred years.”

“Okay, true,” Hyungwon nodded slowly, “so maybe their love won’t die. Then…” Hyungwon gulped and shook his head, “then I don’t know where I’m going with this. I’m a feeder, not a love counselor. I work with sex, not relationships.”

Minhyuk laughed, genuinely, “hey, that was kind of funny. Thanks.”

Hyungwon smiled, “that’s good. If you need more help like that, I wouldn’t mind providing. What’s your friends and family discount? I’ll double it.”

Minhyuk let out a small laugh, “I don’t have to pay unless I pass the three feeders per week limit.”

“Wow, generous,” Hyungwon raised an eyebrow, “again, if you need to, I don’t mind. I’ll work tonight for you.”

Minhyuk smiled, “thanks, Won, but I’m not gonna use you to fill that void inside my heart.”

“Come on,” Hyungwon nudged him, “that’s basically my job description. I won’t mind.”

“Yeah, but I’d rather be a distraction from work for you,” Minhyuk looked at Hyungwon. “When we sleep together, I want you to have fun. Tonight’s just not the night,” he shook his head. When he looked up at the moon, he saw that the red tint was fading. It was almost completed white again.

“Alright,” Hyungwon nodded, “suit yourself, but we should probably start heading inside. Party’s over. Hyunwoo might be wondering where we are.”

Minhyuk hummed, “right…” He was going to face Kihyun again, and though nothing should theoretically happen from that, the thought of seeing Kihyun again exhausted Minhyuk. “Let’s go then,” Minhyuk shook Hyungwon’s hand off his shoulders and stood up, “my pity party is over. I need to go back to the real world.”

Hyungwon stood up, too. “You have every right to be sad, so it’s fine. I’m your friend. I may be terrible with advice, but I’m here for you.” He grabbed Minhyuk’s hand.

Minhyuk smiled and stepped forward to hug him. His head rested on Hyungwon’s collar bone. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

Hyungwon hugged him back, “hey, if there are two things I know vampires crave, it’s blood and warmth. In times like these, you especially need a lot of warmth. I’m happy to provide it - especially if it’s for the people I care about.”

Minhyuk chuckled, “warmth. We are cold creatures. We crave warmth wherever we can find it. I thought I’d find it with Hoseok, but…” Hyungwon hummed, but he did not answer. Instead, he just patted Minhyuk’s back. “I’ve always wanted to believe that there was something there - that he wouldn’t just turn me if he didn’t feel anything for me; that the one night we were together, it meant something - but I guess not. I’m just a fool.” Minhyuk held onto Hyungwon tighter, “Hoseok only turned me because I begged him to, because I didn’t want to die. He slept with me when I was a feeder once just because he’s a vampire, and like you said, vampires crave warmth.” Hyungwon hummed again and nodded. Minhyuk broke apart the hug. “He never even looked at me afterwards, but I still wanted to believe that it was special,” he scoffed and shook his head, “I was delusional.”

“No,” Hyungwon shook his head. He ran a hand through Mihyuk’s hair, “just in love. It happens, I think.”

Minhyuk smiled. He wanted to believe that he was feeling better, that Hyungwon’s words had some sort of meaning in his heart, but he was not sure. “Let’s just go back down, alright? Let’s get this over with,” Minhyuk said softly.

Hyungwon nodded, “okay, follow me.”

They walked back to the second-floor parlor where they were at before the blood moon speech. Hoseok and Kihyun were already there. Minhyuk instantly noticed that they were holding hands, and his hand automatically tightened around Hyungwon’s. Hyungwon looked at him in concern.

Hoseok noticed Minhyuk. “Ah, there you are. I was gonna look for you,” he said, turning to look at him fully.

“Ah, sorry,” Minhyuk let go of Hyungwon’s hand. “I was just with Hyungwon.”

Hoseok nodded, “I was just thinking about leaving now since that’s what you wanted.” He glanced towards Hyungwon before looking back at Minhyuk, “do you still want to leave or do you want to stay?”

Minhyuk knew what Hoseok was implying there. “Yes, I do. We can go,” Minhyuk nodded. He turned to Hyungwon, “I’ll see you later, alright?”

Hyungwon nodded, “I’ll call you.” He turned to look at Hyunwoo, “the festival’s over. Am I good to retreat for the night?”

Hyunwoo nodded, “you are. Thank you for your service, Won.”

Hyungwon nodded back, “alright.” His stiff shoulders noticeably deflated. “I’ll be leaving then. Bye, all,” he bowed towards Kihyun, “it was nice meeting you again.”

Kihyun smiled and nodded towards him, “you have grown well.”

Hyungwon gave a small smile and turned to Minhyuk, putting a hand on his shoulder. He did a simple nod and Minhyuk understood exactly what he was trying to convey. He left afterward.

“So, Kihyun,” Hyunwoo turned to the man in question, “what are you going to do? We’ll gladly give you and Changkyun a space here if needed.”

An optimistic feeling rose inside of Minhyuk. If Hoseok and he left now, Minhyuk would not see Kihyun again for the rest of the night.

Kihyun smiled, “that sounds great-”

Hoseok lifted their intertwined hands and turned to look at Kihyun, “or you can come with us, Kihyunnie."

And the feeling crashed.

“We have enough space in our home for the two of you,” Hoseok motioned to Minhyuk. Minhyuk wondered if Hoseok expected a response from him. He was not going to give him one.

Kihyun put a hand over their intertwined hands. “You wouldn’t mind that?” He looked at Hoseok. His eyes sparkled like stars in the night. Minhyuk felt sick.

Hoseok shook his head, “of course not. I would love that.” His smile fell and he turned to look at Minhyuk, “it’s fine if they come with us, right?”

Oh wow, Hoseok had not forgotten of his existence. Minhyuk felt touched, but it was not like he had a saying in this. The house was Hoseok’s. He was the head of that house, and Kihyun was his kin. Kihyun was meant to live with them. Plus, sire or not, Minhyuk could never say no to Hoseok. “Yeah, it’s fine,” he tried to smile, but he knew it came out strained.

Hoseok’s bright grin made up for the hurt Minhyuk felt though.

Hoseok let go of Kihyun’s hand and he walked towards Minhyuk. To Minhyuk’s surprise, Hoseok hugged him tightly. “Thank you so much,” he whispered against Minhyuk’s ear. Minhyuk knew exactly what he was thanking him for. He sighed and hugged Hoseok back. Typically, he would say that it was fine, but he did not feel fine enough to say that.

Hoseok broke the hug and walked to Jooheon. He hugged him, too. “Thank you so much for finding him,” he told him.

Jooheon hugged him back, “it was more of a fateful meeting, but you’re welcome.”

Hoseok chuckled, “thank you for bringing him back then.”

Jooheon patted Hoseok’s back, “it was a must, bro.”

Hoseok then ended the hug and went to hug Hyunwoo, saying how happy he was to have come. Tonight could not have been better for him. Minhyuk bitterly thought about how he was the one who begged Hoseok to come tonight. If he had not… He wondered how differently things could have turned out - if they could have turned out differently.

They all started saying their goodbyes then. Just like Hoseok, Kihyun hugged the family he was saying goodbye to, promising to visit as soon as tomorrow night and promising to truly keep that promise. Changkyun hugged Jooheon goodbye and then shyly said goodbye to Hyunwoo. Minhyuk did smile at that. Changkyun was cute, and if anything good had come out of this, it was the fact that he now had someone else to tease. Minhyuk did a quick goodbye with Jooheon and Hyunwoo, and then the four of them left.

In the limousine, Minhyuk kept mostly to himself. Kihyun sat in between Hoseok and Changkyun while Minhyuk sat across from them to the side. Most of the trip was spent talking about Changkyun. Hoseok wanted to know about the new member of their family, so it was no surprise that he was the topic of conversation.

Changkyun was born and raised in the United States. He only really started learning Korean after Kihyun took over his care around a decade ago. Before that, he only knew a few phrases. Before getting turned into a vampire, he was a college student studying physics and working as a feeder in the Grell House to make ends meet. He was an only child and to this day, his parents have no idea where he is, and it pained Changkyun to not be able to tell them what happened to him.

Minhyuk frowned listening to Changkyun speak about his parents. It was obvious just how much he respected them and loved them. Minhyuk could not relate to the sentiment. His parents had died of sickness when he was too young to even remember their faces. He ran away from the family member that took care of him when he was eleven and had fended for himself since. Still, he knew that it must hurt to suddenly lose contact with your family over something that you did not even want.

Changkyun was turned by a vampire that was completely and absolutely obsessed with him. All against his will, all before he could even think about what was happening. Changkyun looked visibly uncomfortable talking about it. His hands, which sat on Kihyun’s lap, were covered by Kihyun’s hands, and Minhyuk could clearly see that Changkyun took a lot of comfort by simply feeling Kihyun’s caring gestures, like the continuous rub of Kihyun's thumbs over his hands.

Changkyun did not go into detail about his turn, and Hoseok did not ask. By his sympathetic look, Hoseok seemed to know enough and that now was not the time. Hoseok grabbed Changkyun’s hand and promised him a good home here. They would do their best so that the demons that haunted him could not get to him.

Minhyuk once again started to feel hopeful. He wanted to befriend Changkyun and to help him, too. Changkyun spoke little but he spoke great, and Minhyuk had a feeling that he could learn a lot about him.

Minhyuk’s emotions had been in quite the rollercoaster tonight. He still felt sad and bitter over Kihyun’s arrival, but Changkyun’s arrival was nice and welcomed still. Though he could not yet react about how he was feeling about Changkyun due to how he felt about Kihyun, he knew that in a couple of days, he might be all over Changkyun, and that honestly made him smile. He could not wait.

After arriving at their home, Hoseok helped Kihyun and Changkyun with their baggage. Minhyuk bitterly thought that they had too many bags, even though it was reasonable considering they were moving in. Minhyuk did not want to think about that yet. They walked up the front steps into the home and Minhyuk opened the door for all of them.

“Woah,” Kihyun stepped into the house. He looked around, “it’s so pretty here.” Minhyuk almost chimed in to say that he was the main decorator. “I like the furnit-” His eyes fixated on the painting that rested on top of the grand stairs. “Wait, is that… is that what I think it is?” He looked at Hoseok.

Hoseok bashfully looked away, “I kept it all these years.”

Kihyun dropped all the bags he was carrying and cupped his mouth in surprise. “Oh my god,” Minhyuk heard him mutter. He was out of sight a second later, but when Minhyuk turned his gaze to the top of the stairs, he saw Kihyun there, looking at the painting.

Hoseok walked to Minhyuk and put a hand on his shoulder. “Take Changkyun to one of the guest rooms, okay?” He said, obviously distracted since his eyes did not leave Kihyun. He, too, then disappeared to the top of the stairs next to Kihyun.

Minhyuk sighed. There was that pain in his heart again. He turned to look at Changkyun, “let me show you our guest rooms.”

They walked up the stairs past Hoseok and Kihyun, who were still admiring the painting together. Minhyuk did not understand why really. It was just an old painting. There was no reason for tears to be forming in Kihyun’s eyes (Minhyuk saw them as he passed by). Minhyuk and Changkyun walked to the end of the hallway. Minhyuk pointed to two adjacent rooms. “These are our best guest rooms. You can choose which one you’d like,” Minhyuk looked at Changkyun. “Though if you want my advice,” he smiled and pointed to the room on the left, “this one has a very pretty view of the lake past our house, so I suggest this one.”

“Wow,” Changkyun’s eyes twinkled. He nodded, “alright, I’ll take that one.” He walked inside, with all his bags still in hand.

Minhyuk smiled amusingly, though the smile dropped once the bedroom door closed behind Changkyun. He turned back around and walked back to the grand stairs. He stopped before he could come out of the shadows of the hallway when he saw that Kihyun and Hoseok were turned towards each other.

“I never thought you kept the painting,” Kihyun muttered.

“I protected this painting with all of my being, Kihyun,” Hoseok said.

“You really held on to the hope that I would come back,” Kihyun looked at the painting. He chuckled, “woah, our long hair, how time has passed.” He looked back at Hoseok, “I’m so sorry for not coming back sooner.”

Hoseok grabbed Kihyun’s hand and kissed it, “you already apologized about that.”

“I’ll keep doing it,” Kihyun said, “because one apology will never make up for all the years we spent apart.”

Hoseok chuckled, “if you want to make up for all the years we were apart, then please don’t leave again.” He wrapped an arm around Kihyun’s waist and rested his head on his shoulder, “stay with me until the end of time.”

Kihyun hummed, wrapping his arms around Hoseok’s torso. Minhyuk could see the bright smile on his face from this angle. “Sounds amazing. I’ll do it,” Kihyun said.

They stayed hugging like that. Minhyuk stepped back deeper into the shadows. He gulped and rested against the walls. It was not like he was not expecting this to happen. He knew fully well that things were leading up to this moment, to Kihyun staying with them now and forever. Yet, he still could not believe it. Kihyun was accepted back way too easily, and Minhyuk did not care that he did not have the same emotional connection to Kihyun as the rest of his family did. It should not be this easy. Hoseok should get mad at Kihyun - yell and scream and reject - and yet…

Hoseok disconnected from Kihyun a little. He moved his hands to Kihyun’s face, and Kihyun kept his hands wrapped around Hoseok. “Do you want to know how I kept the hope that you would come back?” He asked, so softly that Minhyuk almost did not hear him.

“How?” Kihyun whispered back.

Minhyuk was facing Hoseok’s back, but he was guessing that Hoseok started smiling. “Hyunwoo used to tell us that our love was carefully crafted in the stars, made to be everlasting. For years after you left, he would constantly tell me that to embed it in my head and in my heart. It worked obviously. You’re here, and I love you the same way I did five hundred years ago.” Kihyun let out a soft giggle. His eyes were becoming glassy. Hoseok rubbed his cheeks and leaned forward until his lips connected with Kihyun’s. The kiss was fast, only lasting a few seconds. “No matter what problems or what storms came, we were destined to meet each other again. I turned you, fully out of love and the need to be with you forever. Our bond is more than unbreakable.”

They hugged again, and Minhyuk felt the last bits of his heart chip away. He could never win against what Kihyun meant to Hoseok. Not that he was ever planning on competing - there was no competition. Kihyun won by default before Minhyuk could even participate. There was nothing he could do, and he had to start drilling that into his head.

“Do you want to have your own room or," Hoseok paused and looked away, running a hand through his hair, "would you like to come with me to mine?” He cupped Kihyun's cheek for a second and then ran a hand through Kihyun’s hair.

Kihyun giggled. “I’ll go to yours. We’ve been separated for centuries,” he shook his head, “not one more night.”

Hoseok chuckled. He leaned to give Kihyun another kiss. “I’d like that,” he said after breaking up the kiss.

Now that’s just too much, Minhyuk had thought, frowning.

Hoseok grabbed Kihyun’s hand and led him to the other side of the hallway away from Minhyuk towards his room. “I’m happy,” Minhyuk suddenly heard a voice behind him.

Minhyuk jumped in surprise and turned around only to see Changkyun behind him. “Oh, it’s you,” he said, sighing, calming the ghost beats of his dead heart.

Changkyun nodded, crossing his arms, “it’s about time. Kihyun always talked about him. Ever since I’ve known him, I felt like I’ve known Mr. Hoseok, too.” He sighed, “I’m so happy for him.”

Minhyuk wished he could share the sentiment, but the frown still stayed on his face.

Changkyun looked away. He shifted his weight from one foot to another awkwardly. “You don’t,” he cleared his throat.

Minhyuk sighed and leaned against the wall. He looked towards the other side of the second floor, where Hoseok’s room was at. “It happens when your heart breaks,” he muttered.

“Ah…” Changkyun looked down, “I’m sorry…”

“Have you ever had… feelings for Kihyun?” Minhyuk asked, hoping to find someone that he might relate to, even though it was stupid to ask Changkyun, considering how happy he acted over Kihyun and Hoseok’s reunion.

Changkyun shook his head, “no… my relationship with Kihyun has always been platonic. Even when I was a feeder, my relationship with Kihyun then was only professional.”

Minhyuk hummed, nodding slowly. He chuckled bitterly, “lucky you then.”

“I…” Changkyun gulped. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

“It’s fine,” Minhyuk looked at Changkyun and smiled, “it’s only my luck. I’ll deal with it.”

Changkyun nodded slowly. He looked towards the grand painting. “Mr. Hoseok seems nice.”

“Yup,” Minhyuk nodded, “he let me down nicely. That’s for sure.” He straightened up, “jokes aside, Hoseok is… possibly the nicest, most caring person in existence. All he’s ever done for me - I could never thank him for it.” Minhyuk laughed softly.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Changkyun looked at Minhyuk, “why did he turn you?”

Minhyuk smiled softly and looked down, “I was sick, coughing up blood and everything, and I didn’t want to die.” He hugged himself, “I saw no choice but to become the people I served in order to survive. After enough begging, I convinced Hoseok to turn me.” He sighed. He looked at Changkyun, “I don’t regret my decision. Never have. But it’s always been painful to be with the person I love and not really be with him. I didn’t realize how in love I really was with him until after I was turned.”

Changkyun nodded slowly. He stepped closer to Minhyuk and hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder, “I hope it gets better.”

Minhyuk looked at him and smiled, “me too.”

Changkyun stuck his other hand out, “I do hope we get along well since we’re gonna be living together and all.”

Minhyuk grabbed his hand and shook it, “I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.”

Changkyun smiled softly, “please, don’t hate Kihyun. He’s amazing, too.”

Minhyuk sighed, looking away, “Hoseok loves him. I’ll get over it soon enough - for his sake.” Changkyun squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. “Let me show you around the house,” Minhyuk said, “we can go to the kitchen and share a couple of drinks. Let’s start this friendship off right.”

Changkyun grinned, and something inside Minhyuk stirred. This time, it was positive. He was right. Changkyun was going to be a fun addition to the family. “Let’s go then,” Minhyuk said and together, they walked to the kitchen.

Minhyuk did not let go of Changkyun’s comforting hand. 

**Author's Note:**

> it ended more lowkey changhyuk that i had initially expected... though I expected none at all lol  
If y'all wanna know about how this story came to be, I was just thinking about how vampires in fiction always turned their loved ones to be together with them forever, but like... eternity is a long time man... but like, i love kiho too much to actually make them fully break up ever lol  
i'm going through a small rough patch rn in my life (hopefully it'll get better soon! *fingers crossed*) so i wanted to upload this finally to cheer me up a little  
i definitly wanted this to be more detailed but like... idk i didn't think it was necessary to the context of the story? idk i might visit this au later in the future mostly bc i really fell in love with the idea of mh being a cunning feeder in the late 1800s and thats a concept i want to explore more lol  
I wrote all that as if this story isnt 21k words long lol  
I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as i enjoyed writing it! leave a comment and kudos if you'd like and I hope you have a most wonderful rest of your day/night/whatever! until next time (whenever that might be idk), bye-bye!


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